Heir to the Empire
by Ozzallos
Summary: Usagi Tsukino is the heir to Serenity's Silver Millennium. She's also about to get the surprise of her life, as is one Ranma Saotome, Heir to the Anything Goes school of Martial Arts. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

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**  
Heir to the Empire**  
_By Ozzallos_  
A Fukufics (dotcom) Production 

**"Y**ou know, one of these days we're gonna look back on this and just _laugh_." Queen Serenity, ruler of one of the most powerful empire in the universe pointed out as another burst of white energy flew from her hand, carving into the ranks of power armor pressing toward her. The black shaded combat armors withstood the beam's enormous potential momentarily before being cut down into a glowing molten slag. Her white formal dress was easily at odds with the raging warfare surrounding them

"Over sake and moon cakes, your Highness?" Sailor Pluto spun around, unleashing a Dead Scream into another platoon of the bulky combat units encroaching on their left flank. The ball of pink death plowed through several ranks before detonating deep inside their formation.

"Yeah, something like that." Serenity paused, affecting a wistful look before lashing out at one of the larger four legged armors as it spat plasma at her from one of its many turrets. Three legs came off as the line of energy intersected with them, sending the lumbering armor to the earth. "But I was thinking something more along the lines of Mercury fire wine and crackers."

Pluto scoffed at the suggestion as another half dozen mecha evaporated under her assault. "Light weight."

"Push over." Serenity retorted. "So when are those girls of yours going to get her?" A plume of fire accompanied the question, sending a magical white hot mushroom into the dusk sky ...In addition to a few hundred tons of atomized reactive plating.

"Dropping in fifty seconds, your highness." Sailor Pluto reported and returned to her negotiations, taking a out a mech that had strayed to close to their position with a Chronos Typhoon. The time storm tore through its armor like tissue paper, rendering it an impotent heap. Yeah, the negotiations were going really _swell_. At least they had been up until fifteen minutes ago, where upon a state visit to negotiate the Hyrdri Cluster's territorial annexation had turned into an ambush. Serenity improvised point defense as a trio of fighter-bombers streaked over head. Guided beams flashed out from the Queen, eviscerating the fragile aircraft as they blew overhead.

Damn she hated assassination attempts.

Well that's what you get for trying to bring a backward sector of the galaxy out of the dark ages, Pluto thought sarcastically. No good deed ever goes unpunished, and Serenity chan had been doing her share of those lately… Sometimes at gunpoint. The Senshi counted down the remaining time. Reinforcements oughta be arriving right about…

_"SPACE SWORD BLASTER!"_

"_DEEP SUBMERGE!"_

…Now. Pluto smiled as two women in skin tight body suits descended from the on high, riding their attacks home in a spectacular display of chaotic destruction. The pair of newcomers tore into the rear enemy lines with feral intensity, and anything that wasn't washed away by an elemental flood was quickly sliced apart by the flashing energy blade.

Queen Serenity took a break from her workout, watching the two take their enemy apart from behind. Serenity arched an eyebrow. "Energetic, aren't they, Set-chan?"

"Eager to please." Setsuna corrected as a large blocky drop ship rumbled overhead. "Royal marines in thirty seconds. Orders?"

The Queen surveyed the destruction wrought around them, and spared a moment to watch Sailors Uranus and Neptune clean up the last of the shattered strike force with a sigh. Well, she had given them the easy way out and they passed it up. "The hard way it is, then."

Sailor Pluto nodded, her face taking a mask of seriousness. She motioned the disembarking commander of the royal marines over, who stepped up to them sharply. Silver plated troops bearing heavy weaponry flowed around their position, forming a defensive ring around the ladies. "Take the planet apart, Commander. Quarter to any who ask it."

The commander snapped smartly into a half bow. "Your will, m'lady, your Highness." Serenity nodded and the officer produced a sharp about face. She turned her eyes to the sky and found more of the bulbous ships making their orbit to atmosphere decent. Pluto secreted a sidelong glance to her friend and monarch, who stared into the darkening sky. She didn't like this part. Sure, Utada Minor and the surrounding cluster of stars would be a better place when they were done, but in the mean time they'd have to settle for copious amounts of destruction. Hopefully the local government would have the common sense to not put up a big fuss. If they did, their forces would have to get serious and the Queen wasn't exactly the most social when she was serious.

As if hearing her thoughts, Queen Serenity's eyes broke from their stargazing. Her face mirrored Pluto's serious mask. "Let's go, Set-chan. Time to finish this."

* * *

Usagi Tsukino, last heir to the throne of the Silver Millennium began her day as she began many—Half asleep and stumbling into the bathroom. It was crime, her fog filled brain thought, that a soldier for love and justice still had to go to school. Her squinting eyes slapped the side of the wall once or twice before finding the light switch, flipping it on and turning her retinas to jelly in one fluid motion. Having experienced this condition many times, Usagi ignored the needling pain in her eyeballs and slid out of her oversized pajama shirt. She started the shower up with a half-hearted swat at the facet and paused before stepping into the steam filled compartment. She was forgetting something… What was it? Did she have a test? Some meeting? Her eyes suddenly widened. 

"_EEEEIIIIiiIiiiGGGGHHHHHH!"_ Kenji Tsukino choked on his coffee, spitting into the paper he had been reading while his wife Ikuko pause in her breakfast preparation, cocking her head curiously.

"Itsgoneitsgoneitsgoneitsgone!"

Usagi blew into kitchen, flailing wildly and the pink towel she was wrapped in threatened to come off any minute. She looked around frantically and the two parents stared at her with mounting curiosity. "What's gone, honey?"

The blonde stopped her flailing immedietly, eyes widening. "Uh… heheh heheh… Nothing!"

Her mother took a step toward the frozen girl. "Are you sure? You're not sick, are you?" 

"Nope! Just fine!" Usagi forced a smile, backing into the hallway and out of sight. As soon as she was gone from view, the parents heard more frantic footsteps followed by the crash of several clattering items. Both parents looked at one another and minutes later, a blond clad in the usual school uniform blew by, yelling a hurried "bye!" before the door slammed closed behind her.

A half an hour later and nine Senshi later, an adrenaline seized Usagi had gathered her friends at the Cherry hill shrine, having called in an emergency meeting. The reactions to this early morning summons were mixed, to say the least. Ami and Hotaru seemed to be faring the best of the group, waiting patiently while Rei, Makato and Minako lapsed in and out of their drowsy coma. Haruka and Michiru sat with annoyed expressions and Setsuna stood by impassively waiting for inevitable explanation.

"It's GONE!" 

Setsuna merely arched an eyebrow and the more awake attendees looked at her with quizzled expressions on their faces. Minako snored soundly.

"_What_," Haruka stressed with annoyance. "is missing?" 

"The Ginzuishou!" Moon proclaimed with wide eyes, jolting any fatigue lingering around out of the remaining Senshi.

"YOU LOST THE GINZUISHOU!" Minako bolted upright from sleeping stupor. It was an action mirrored by most of the Senshi, who now crowded around the panicked blond.

"Um, how can you _lose_ the last, most powerful artifact of the Silver Millennium, Usagi?" Ami twitched and summoned the Mercury computer out of ether.

Rei gaped at the magnitude of the disaster. "That's what I would like to know, Meatball head!"

"I don't know!" Usagi pleaded as the others badgered her. "I just woke up this morning and it was gone!"

"From where?" Setsuna asked perhaps one of the more useful questions of the morning. "Did you anchor it to your soul like I taught you?"

"Uh-huh!" Moon shook her head sharply. "And it wasn't there when I woke up!" 

Setsuna nodded calmly, as if the information hadn't been nearly as disturbing at the others were taking it. "The stone is keyed to the Serenity bloodline, which means we should have plenty of time before whoever took it can actually use it." She paused, and a slightly evil smile crossed her face. "And with any luck, it'll cause them severe pain in the process. The Ginzuishou doesn't take kindly to usurpers of its power."

"Ok, then we have some time to look for it." Usagi nodded, calming slightly. Still the thought of having lost such a powerful artifact and her mother's only heirloom weighed heavily on her mind. Her spirits perked up suddenly. "Oh darn, looks like we'll have to miss school to search for it."

"You sure you didn't lose it on purpose, bubblehead?" Haruka leaned in skeptically and received a rude tongue in her direction.

Setsuna would have smiled a bit more had the threat of the Ginzuishou falling into the wrong hands not been so high, and the fact that their opponent had been able to graft it from the Princesses very soul spoke volumes about the potential threat they faced.

No, the Guardian of Time wasn't looking forward to that confrontation _at all_.

* * *

Nabiki Tendo lounged on her bed in a light blue tank top and shorts, studying her accounting logs with interest. She flipped a pencil through her fingers and brought the eraser down onto t a hapless entry, removing it and penciling in a correction. The correction elicited a slight smile from the girl before lapsing back into concentration. She fingered a page, preparing to turn it when a knock at the bedroom door interrupted her thoughts. 

"Go away."

_Click._

Nabiki's face scrunched with irritation as the door opened anyway, revealing one well built black haired martial artist named Ranma Saotome. She shook her head at having been interrupted, but managed to console herself with the fact that her favorite income source had come to her instead of her wasting the effort to track him down.

"Hey Nabs, whatcha doing?" he peered on to the bed she was now sitting up on and she affected her icy mask, closing the books from his prying eyes.

"Entertaining clueless martial artists, apparently." She quipped, gathering the logs and depositing them into a nearby dresser drawer. "Time is money, Saotome."

Ranma nodded, well versed with this particular aspect of the middle Tendo. "Need your help."

Nabiki smiled. It wasn't a warm, inviting one. "Of course you do. The usual fee."

"I'll take your usual fee outta the damages to my mom's place."

Nabiki blinked as the usually guiless face dropped any pretense of the clueless martial artist she knew so well, settling into a serious expression of stone. Not only was it a sharp departure from Ranma's usual behavior, it was one of the few, if only times he had her dead to rights. The damage to his mother's place during the wedding party a week ago had been quite extensive, and a majority of it could be traced either directly or indirectly back to her. Sure, she was extracting her portion of the payment from the other fiancées and various combatants, but it wasn't the money Ranma was using as leverage. He was calling in a marker. Even so, she hadn't been expected him to realize he even had one until much later, where upon she could play down its significance.

She sighed. "Alright, let's get this over with then. What do you need?"

Ranma dug into his pocket, pulling out a medium sized silk pouch bound by a simple drawstring. "Need you to find out what this is."

He tossed the brown pouch to her and she looked at him curiously, and loosened the string, dumping the contents into her hand. Her eyes instantly widened as it fell into her hand. "Saotome, where in the _hell_ did you get _this_?" She held the large faceted crystalline stone up to the room light above, and marveled at its flawless beauty. No way was it glass. Not a chance.

"Don't worry about it." He brushed past the question. "I just need to know what it is."

"One mother of a diamond by the looks of it." She breathed, rotating it in the light. Light refracted though it, creating a beautiful kaleidoscope of color. She pulled it back down and walked over to her desk, pulling a small box from the top right drawer. From the box, she retrieved a small eyepiece and wedged it into her left eye peering at the crystal intently. It only took a minute for her to confirm what her informal appraisal had told her. "Absolutely flawless. Saotome, you just made us very, very rich."

"No I haven't." Nabiki's head snapped up off the treasure and onto him. It wasn't the answer she wanted to hear. "In fact, you aren't gonna breath a word about this."

Nabiki's expression soured. He had just shown her one of the biggest, most absolutely flawless diamonds in the world and he wasn't going to turn it around for a profit? No marker was going to get him out of this. "And what makes you think I'll do _that_, Saotome?"

"That's the rock that saved your sister."

Few things would have swayed Nabiki from her quest to make money off the martial artist, let alone one in possession of such a priceless treasure. She nearly dropped it as he uttered the words. "This thing… saved…?"

Ranma nodded, relaxing somewhat now that he had successfully communicated the fact that it wasn't for sale. "What else can you tell me about it?"

Nabiki cast a piercing stare into Ranma, considering his words. He couldn't lie to save his life, and she was convinced that he was telling her the truth, which also meant that he was asking her more than just the value of one of the largest diamonds she had ever seen. Just her luck that it would be cursed or something. "Well, aside from the fact that it's one of the largest, most flawless diamonds I've ever laid eyes on, it's too perfect."

"What do ya mean, 'too perfect'?"

Nabiki donned the jewelers' eyepiece once again, squinting into the crystal. "Well first of all, it's abnormally large. Diamonds just don't grow this large without incurring stress fractures. Not only is this thing huge for a diamond, it's absolutely perfect." She took the eyepiece out, and examined it normally. "Every diamond is flawed, though some are so minute as not to matter. This one has _none_."

"Fake diamond then?" Ranma asked, wondering if it was one of those cubic zirconium things.

"Not a chance." Nabiki shook her head, staring into the stone longingly. "This baby is one hundred percent all natural. If you don't want to part with this one, mind telling me where its friends are?"

"I don't think there's another one like it." Ranma voice lowered thoughtfully, causing Nabiki to look at him funny.

She handed the bare stone back to the distracted boy, pressing it into hand. "Ok, Saotome, what aren't you telling me?" As soon as the crystal touched his palm, silver tendrils snaked out from it, flowing along his body with bright light and processing the change from he to she. Nabiki snatched her own hand back in shock. "What the _hell?_"

Ranma tore her eyes off the stone to find Nabiki staring at him incredulously. Her eyes fell back to the stone. "Ya shouldn't have done that, Nabs."

"Done _what? What the hell_ just happened?"

"I put it in the bag for a reason…." Her voice dropped to a whisper, and he found himself being drawn into its crystalline folds. Ranma's thumb caressed the surface, and she absently turned toward the door. "Thanks for your help, Nabs…"

Nabiki watched as the pig-tailed girl depart from her room, staring at the small fortune in her hands as if it were the only thing in the universe that mattered.

* * *

_Ranma Saotome floated in the Hiyru Shoten Ha born tempest, his body wounded and layered in frost. In his hands was a miniature dehydrated Akane Tendo, rendered such by the being now hovering before him… Saffron. There would only be one last chance to defeat the winged megalomaniac, while Ranma himself barely had enough left to take advantage of that last chance as the winged freak began to tap into his vast energy reserves, powering up for a final attack. It was going to be tight. Very—_

"_**Tenka Shunmetsu Koukyuu Dan!"**_

_Saffron's final attack roared in on them, denying Ranma those precious few second to formulate a last ditch defense to keep them both alive. Freezing himself with the Gekkaja had been scrapping the bottom of the barrel and he'd have the scar from that if he survived the giant fireball raging toward them, which he wouldn't. Oh sure, he'd go down fighting, but…_

_A tug at his chest._

_Akane was airborne. _

_The doll-like body flew out ahead, cutting a hole through Saffron's final attack. Ranma watched as horror filtered through his psyche once again. If there was nothing left, Akane would either die in the godling's fires or fall to the earth and certain death. No. Not today. Too many people had already died on his watch. Another was sacrificing herself. He couldn't let it happen. Power bubbled up from the core of his being and he eagerly accepted the offering._

_Never again._

_Ranma rode the power spike to its fullest potential and sighted down the window Akane Tendo created for him. There he was... The winged bastard. Ready to cut her down._

_Not in this lifetime. _

_Or any other._

"_**HIRYU HYOU-TOPPA!"**_

_The horizontal tornado carved through Akane's opening, breaching the Phoenix god's final attack. Saffron removed his eyes from the falling girl just in time to watch the wind born scythe reach into his chest, tearing it apart with elemental fury. Ranma frowned as his enemy fell to the earth dying. That hadn't been ki—couldn't have been ki. He had been throwing that stuff at the creature throughout the entire battle without play and now all of a sudden it was enough to punch a hole through him? Ranma knew he was the best, but being the best also means knowing yourself and your limits. Maybe if he had dumped everything into a single attack, he could have reamed the godling outright, but he had long since passed that point. No, there had been nothing left for an attack of that magnitude, yet there it was. _

_But there was no time to consider that now, as Akane Tendo fell to Earth, her life force stretched well beyond her endurance. The fact that she had survived this long had been a miracle in itself, but she was faltering. Even if she did survive the drop, her lifespan was being measured in seconds, and Ranma plunged after her. First the water._

"_**Hiryu Gyoten Haaa!"**_

_The tornado fist severed the dragon spout, beheading the stone monument as the falling martial artist gathered Akane into his arms. The neck shattered and the head spun impossibly around, crashing down into the stump as water tore skyward from its mouth. Akane rehydrated as the shower met the sky born couple, but her life force continued to leak away even as the curse redhead touched down. Water rained down around them and Ranma searched frantically for a pulse. The finger on her neck told Ranma what Akane's aura already had… She was dying._

_No. Ranma tensed as the possibility entered her mind. No. Not again. Too many… There had to be something to bring her back from the brink… Something. But what? She wasn't a god. She didn't have the power to resurrect people. She didn't… wait. There was something. She couldn't do it, but something could. But what? The redheaded martial artist clutched her head, wracking her brain. She knew of something, and it was right on the edge of her memories… What?_

_Akane coughed. Ranma instinctively knew it would be her last._

_NO! What was it! All she had to do was call it… Reach for it… Being her last hope of salvation, Ranma reached out with her minds eye. IT came into focus… A crystal… A soft glow surrounded the martial artist and she felt the weight in her hand. There it was, her mind's eye manifest. Her next actions were entire instinctual as she fed power into the relic, focusing on the youngest Tendo and feeding life energy back into her. Ranma pulled back from the link and staunched the flow. What the hell was she even doing? Would she live? Die? Ranma Saotome stared down at the limp girl in her arms… _

_Only time would tell._

_

* * *

_  
"…can you believe it?" Akane growled, and buried her chopsticks back into the noodles, picking out a shrimp. Silence greeted her question, and the youngest sister looked up from her dish, mildly annoyed that no response was forth coming. There were several things she expected to see from Ranma Saotome, the top of that list being a stuffed face full of food. Failing that, she was sure to see him engaging his father in chopstick-fu.

Surprisingly, she found neither of those.

What she did find, however, was the redhead staring vacantly into space. "Ranma?" No response. She leaned over and nudged him with an elbow. "Raaaaannmmmmaaaaa?"

Ranma blinked several times before returning to the world around her, finding all eyes riveted to her person. "Uh… heh… Got something on my face?"

"You zoned out there, Saotome." Nabiki commented with a mask of neutrality. Kasumi nodded in affirmation.

"Not sick, are you boy?" Genma leaned forward, staring at his son intently. After all, it wasn't often that the boy in question allowed his plate to be swept clean of food these days. Likewise, Nodoka radiated concern for her only son.

Ranma's eyes flicked back and forth with apprehension. "Uh, no. Not sick. Thanks for askin'."

Genma's eyebrow immediately arched as his mind replayed the impossible words. _Thanks for asking?_

Nabiki's mindset immediately dropped into DEFCON one. Ranma didn't give apologies. If he did, they were normally terse and only under extreme duress. Neither condition existed here, so what the hell? Several elements clicked into place for the middle sister and her gaze narrowed sharply on the girl. She was all but certain that the glittering object lay somewhere on her person.

"You're still a girl, Saotome." She observed pointedly and for a nearly imperceptible moment, Ranma ceased all movement.

"Drop it, Nabs." Ranma grumbled and picked at her remaining food with deliberate precision, not looking up. Anybody who failed to notice anything out of the ordinary before now directed their undivided attention onto the red head. Kasumi and Soun may have been content to simply watch the incident unfold, his father however was not.

"Why haven't you changed back, boy?" Genma Saotome menaced, a sentiment echoed by his wife.

"Indeed, it isn't very manly to stay in your girl form." Nodoka echoed with a frown.

Her reply was the soft click of chopsticks as Ranma set them down on the unfinished plate. She cast a sharp glance over at Nabiki before rising from the table. Akane wanted to join the inquision but held her peace. She already knew that dispatching Saffron hadn't sat well with Ranma and for once was more than willing to give her the space to wrestle with whatever ghost was haunting her at the moment.

Ranma turned to Kasumi with a warm smile. "Thanks for the meal, Kas-chan."

With that, Ranma was gone into the night before more questions arose.

* * *

"Got it." Ami confirmed, tapping at the Mercury link with precise key strokes. 

"The Ginzuishou?" Usagi leaned forward with interest, prompting the Senshi of Mercury to shake her head.

"Not exactly," She clarified. "But I am picking up minute bursts of Silver Millennium energy north of here, about eight kilometers. Can't think of anything else it might be."

Michiru looked at her blonde partner. "Shall we go in force and liberate it?"

Before Haruka could formulate a reply, Setsuna stepped in. "No." She had everybody's complete attention now. "Ami, what is the location?"

"Mmmm…" The cobalt blue haired girl converted the coordinates. "Nerima district."

"That's what I thought." Setsuna pursed her lips. "We wait."

"Wait?" Usagi echoed, not sure she just heard what she thought she heard. They had a lead on an artifact that they were to retrieve at all costs and she had just said they were going to wait? The blond wasn't the only one with those thoughts.

"It's been a week now. Surely we've got to grab the Ginzuishou as soon as possible?" Haruka forwarded what she thought was the most logical solution to the problem they all faced.

Setsuna shook her head. "Not according to my future self. In fact, I've been told to stay away from Nerima until we're invited."

"Invited… to retrieve the Ginzuishou?" Usagi tried to wrap her brain around what she was being told. It was theirs. They didn't need an invitation…. Did they?

The green haired Senshi of Time paused, frowning slightly. "I realize that the message is remarkably… vague, but I'm sure there is a good reason behind it." There had to be, she thought silently. I'm the one giving myself the advice, right?

"Ok, so what do we do in the mean time?" Moon was clearly unhappy with the proposition, but willing to go along with the plan for now.

"You…" Setsuna pointed at the blonde for dramatic effect. "Get to go school."

Usagi scowled. "Rats!"

* * *

"There's definitely something wrong with him." Akane whispered, motioning to the fence-borne martial artist, who still happened to be a she at the moment. Nabiki knew exactly what she meant. Ranma didn't spend any more time in his female body than he absolutely had to, and even then, only if the situation was directly advantageous to him as a result. For her part, Nabiki knew exactly what was wrong, if not the mechanics behind it. So far, she had spent all last night and started the day out as a girl. Akane leaned into her again, stealing another glance up at Ranma, who appeared to be keeping pace ten feet ahead of them. Her section of fence ended and she hopped down, waiting for the sisters to catch up. "He's not actually going to go to school like that, is he?" 

It was a largely rhetorical question to Nabiki, since it certainly looked like that was going to be the case. They closed on her, and Ranma offered them both a friendly smile, which in turn weirded Nabiki out to no end. Ranma didn't just hand out warm, friendly smiles. Oh sure, she did smile a lot… But they were overconfident smirks, for the most part. They joined up and continued their walk together, chit chatting about the math test today and other mundane events, when Akane found she couldn't take it anymore.

"Let's swing by Tofu's and get some hot water." The youngest Tendo probed only to find Ranma dismissing the suggestion outright.

"Nah, it's okay, Akane." She smiled. "I'm good."

Nabiki decided to capitalize on Akane's opening. "Where's the rock, Saotome?"

Ranma's pleasant demeanor chilled somewhat with the question. "Nabs…."

"You've got it on you right now, don't you?" Nabiki pressed. Akane watched the pair carefully, trying to discern a conversation she was totally in the dark about.

"None of your business, Nabiki." The pleasantness had all but evaporated from the redhead's voice now.

"It's worth a fortune, saved my sister here and is making you act really, really strange." Nabiki ticked off the points. "I'm making it my business." She paused, then added. "It locks your curse, doesn't it?"

Ranma stopped, and a thoughtful expression spread across her face, as if realizing something. "That's why it was in the bag…"

"What rock? Ranma's locked? Somebody better tell me what the heck is going on!" Akane's ire rose sharply, having been left out of crucial details as to Ranma strange behavior.

"Better show her, Saotome." The suggestion was greeted by a weary sigh, and Ranma pulled the sparkling crystal from his pocket. Morning sunlight refracted brilliantly throughout its structure and once again, Nabiki was filled with the burning desire at auction it off to the highest bidder.

Akane gaped, and for the first time in her life, was afflicted with her sister's avarice. "That can't be… My God, it's worth a fortune!"

"Among other things," Nabiki stared, half mesmerized. "That and it's magical, if not cursed."

"No…" Ranma started, feeling the warmth in his hands. It was utterly addictive. "Not cursed. That much I'm certain of."

"It locks your girl-type." Nabiki retorted. "Last you mentioned, anything that does that is a curse in and of itself."

"So I was wrong. Sue me."

Both stared at Ranma with those last words. Something was definitely wrong. She treated her female form like a throwaway convenience, nothing more. Beyond being useful from time to time it wasn't everyday wear for the martial artist.

Nabiki came to a decisive conclusion first. "Lose the rock, Saotome."

Ranma stopped short and stared at the middle Tendo as if she was speaking an alien language. "Huh?"

Akane stepped up next to her sister. "We think it's making you act weird, Ranma."

"Hmmf." Ranma rolled her eyes. "Says you."

"Seriously," Nabiki put her hands to her hips staring down Ranma with her best business mask. "I saw it lock your curse. That doesn't mean anything to you?"

"Look, whatever." Ranma shook her head and turned back down the road to school. "It ain't for sale, so back off."

Both sisters watched Ranma chuckle to herself and continue down the road alone. Akane stared after her form a moment before turning back to Nabiki with a worried, yet determined look. "We need to talk. Now."

Nabiki nodded. It was definitely time to talk about Ranma… And how to liberate that damn stone from his person for all their mutual benefit.

* * *

The RSN Agamemnon was a silver jewel in the night, easily eclipsing its brethren warships that held in loose formation around it. She was a curved stiletto with an hour glass figure that spanned no less than six kilometers in length, her drive ring another kilometer and a half, floating along the hull's narrowest span free of support. It was a sharp contrast to the next ship down the line, a Harbinger class heavy cruiser. It was only two and a half kilometers in length and far less imposing. Of course, few things were more imposing than five hundred and eighty million tons of super dreadnaught falling in system at three quarters the speed of light, annihilating everything in its path as if the forces arrayed against it were nothing more than wet tissue paper. In all, thirty ships of various type were assembled in formation around the Agamemnon for this particular operation, which itself was culmination of a brutal two year campaign flung across fourteen star systems and several million light years. 

Normally a ship as formidable as the Agamemnon wouldn't be present for something simple as penetrating the enemies last line of defense, save for the fact this was the last of the enemy, their last system and their last, final line of defense. It was an event that warranted the presence of the fleet's only Hyperion class heavy dreadnaught and Queen Serenity's flagship.

A light squadron of six enemy cruisers and four battleships accelerated out from behind the second moon of one of the systems more inconsequential planets and painted the Queen's Fifth Battle Group with their attack sensors. All in all it was a rather successful surprise attack, if not utterly and completely futile in nature given the disparity in mass and numbers against the opponent they faced. The launch of their first guided weapons marked their deaths, as thirty warships brought their own weapons to bear. Even as the enemies fire ablated against the fleets combined point defense, the queen's sword roared in like a tidal wave. One instant the short squadron was there, the next it ceased to exist, as Elerium fury tore the space around them apart.

Princess Pluto arched an eyebrow as the giant tactical screen in front of her erupted into white-hot fire. "Apparently they had a few hold outs in-system." Queen Serenity nodded at the green hair woman standing next to her from her command chair.

A middle aged officer dressed stepped up to the pair, his immaculate white uniform marred only by the numerous combat decorations that covered his right breast, many of which she had personnally awarded. "Hiding in the second moon's magnetic shadow." He supplied. "They should be the last of our surprises until we hit Geidi Prime, ETA three hours, twenty eight minutes."

"The Second?" Princess Serenity asked, stroking a silver lock of hair.

"The Second Battle Group has successfully penetrated the system's southern plane and is hold position as per your orders."

"Any attempts to reinforce the home world?" Pluto asked, and the officer shook his head.

"A few." The officer replied, keeping an even expression. "The Second has dealt with those attempts."

Pluto smiled. It was a grim one. In other words, those attempts at reinforcing the home world they were now assaulting had ended in the decomposition of their component matter by violent means. Geidi was well and truly cut off from all outside support. "Time to make the call, Serenity-chan." She whispered softly.

Queen Serenity only nodded silently and stood up from her command couch, smoothing out her flowing white robe. "Open a com, wide spectrum. I want everybody to hear this." The captain of the Agamemnon turned to the communications officer across the bridge and nodded. Seconds later they were broadcasting across the EM spectrum and into open space. "This is Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium Empire. Your government is hereby ordered to stand down and surrender its authority. Resistance will be met with overwhelming and lethal force. Serenity clear."

The channel closed with a slight beep and Serenity deflated with a sigh. "That was certainly terse, your Highness." Pluto noted with a trace of humor.

"A mere formality," The monarch waved the observation aside. "We both know The Emblem won't surrender their power."

Both turned away from the main viewer, Pluto following her friend's lead as they walked to the rear of the bridge and the armored hatch that represented the primary exit. "Of course, you realize where this will lead…?"

Serenity nodded, seemingly without emotion as the hatch hissed open, admitting them into the jet way. The door closed and she spoke into air. "Royal One." The only sign that the computer had obeyed her command was the slight compression of gforce as the lift dropped and navigated its way to her stated destination. She turned back to Princess Pluto, frowning. "Of course. But if you can find me another alternative to dealing with a government that traffics in demonic powers and has turned their entire world into a gate to the dark plane, I'm all ears."

Setsuna remained silent for a moment. "Political fallout will be--"

"--negligible." She finished Pluto's thought. "I'll just remind them who it was that glassed Cambriea and Meridian."

Pluto remained silent, if only for the fact that she couldn't find any fault in Serenity's reasoning. The Emblem had taken Serenity's galactic expansion to xenophobic levels, refusing any and all negotiation towards a peaceful coexistence. In the end, they had opted to drawing on demonic energies to augment their forces and saturated two of the Kingdom's worlds with nukes. Cambriea had been a gas giant mining facility. It was now a micro nova with a lifespan of a few hundred years. Meridian was… A different story entirely. The vibrant blue world had been a population center of twenty three billion before Emblem forces swept in like a tidal wave and dropped nearly fifty gigaton-range nuclear weapons into the atmosphere. All that remained of the outer rim trade world now was blackened crystal memorial.

Negotiations died that day and Serenity retooled her empire for war.

The lift door slid open silently and the pair stepped out onto the Royal Deck. Two guards in full battle plate and field automatic plasma rifles snapped to attention, and Serenity acknowledged their presence. Setsuna had been there in the hour her friend received the news. She had been calm at first, asking for a moment alone within her chambers. Everybody was ushered out, even her Alpha Guard. What followed next was a display of violence that Setsuna herself would have been hard pressed to duplicated. An hour later, she emerged from the smoke filled shell that used to be her residence and called for an emergency council.

It was a war to the knife.

"I'm going to my chambers to meditate." Serenity said as they found her room, which had another pair of Alpha's standing watch outside. Instead of the field automatics, this pair wielded crescent moon staves, with a bladed ring on the opposite end. They too snapped to attention and her door opened on sensing her presence. "Let me know the moment we're in range."

The Princess of Pluto nodded silently and Serenity disappeared behind the door. Meditation. That was one word for it. In reality, the Senshi knew what that meditation involved. It involved the crystal. She had been repairing it, perfecting that blackened crystalline cinder that was once part of Meridian with her formidable magic. The last time she laid eyes on it had shown a startling enough transformation. When Serenity had personally set foot on the world and retrieved it, it was black. Scarred. Pluto had caught a glimpse of it three months ago and saw how half the crystal had been purified. It was still scarred, but light was actually passing through it. It was simultaneously the queen's guilt and hope for a people who had long since passed out of the realm of the living.

With Pluto gone, Serenity's eyes fell on the clouded crystal floating over the pulse grav plate in the center of her room. It had been a permanent fixture since taking up residence on the Agamemnon and she kneeled before it, focusing, straining to find the point where she left off.

There. The crack down the left hemisphere. The Queen pooled her power and focused on the crack. Time slowed to molasses.

_Beep!_

Serenity blinked.

_Beep!_

Her eyes came back into focus and off the crystal in front of her. The crack she had been focused on was all but gone now. "Yes?"

"Time minus ten, Your Highness." Pluto's voice echoed over the room com.

"On the way."

Queen Serenity stepped out off the lift and the command deck instantly snapped to attention. _"Serenity on the bridge!"_

"As you were." She stated, her tone all business. She stepped up to Pluto and the Captain, who were conversing with one another. "Status?"

"The Fifth is decelerating and will anchor just beyond the range of their orbital defense platforms." The Captain detailed, "Make it minus seven. The Xianghua, Arclight, Damascus, Resolute and Arcadia are running ahead on point."

"I've taken the liberty of rearranging our formation." Pluto stepped in, smoothly taking over the report. "I don't expect much more in the way of resistance, but you can never be too prepared."

Serenity nodded, taking her command chair. "Any word from The Emblem?"

"None, Your Majesty." Setsuna frowned. "We've been broadcasting every fifteen minutes for the last hour."

"We should consider fractional-cee bombardment of the orbital platforms before taking up fixed positions over the planet." The captain advised and Serenity simply stared straight ahead. "From there, it should be trivial to--"

"We won't be landing troops on this world, Jonathan." Serenity's voice held an edge of steel and the Captain of the Agamemnon froze as the Queen used his first name. He knew that was a bad sign, and not for him. She glanced at the chronometer counting down their arrival time. Four minutes. The advanced screening elements on point should have cleared away any unwanted guests by now, opening the path to Geidi Prime itself.

"Then your orders, my Queen?"

Serenity closed her blue eyes and folded her hands at her chin. After a minute of silent contemplation, she opened them, staring straight ahead and into the viewer that held an angry red world on display. "Ready Z90 Point Singularity Weapons." Then she added as an after thought. "How many will it take to destroy Geidi Prime?"

The captain recovered from his shock. "Four, your Majesty."

"Allocate six ."

"Y-Yes, your Majesty." It was rare that his monarch displayed this level of feral ruthlessness. Thus far, she had spared all of the Emblem peripheral systems, opting to land troops instead. Today, he almost pitied the enemy… almost.

"Open a channel." Another moment and a small flashing light on her armrest indicated the active frequency. "Emblem forces. This is your final opportunity to surrender. Failure to do so will result in the removal of your home world from this existence. You have…" Serenity glanced at her armrest once more. "Ten minutes. Serenity clear."

"The Fifth has arrived on station, Serenity-chan." Pluto reported from her perpetual position next to her Queen's command couch. Small flashes lit around the planets orbital shell as its defensive platforms died by fire. "Our attack corridor is clear."

"Now we see--"

"Tactical alert!" An officer called from across the bridge. "Picking up multiple surface launches! Reading them as long range ballistics, AR-303 types. Point defense has a solid lock on all inbounds, estimate three hundred with more clearing their silos."

"Bring us to condition one, Commander!" The captain bellowed, and his subordinate began barking orders to the bridge personal. A claxon sounded, and the main bridge lighting faded to an ominous red. "Battle formation Echo-six, layer our point defense for maximum yield."

"Echo-Six established." The Commander reported. "Tactical, seed decoys and light up the ECM arrays."

Pluto sighed wearily. "I guess that's the answer."

"Indeed." Serenity agreed in a dead tone. "Captain, slave release of all Z90s to my board."

"Rerouting fire protocols." The Captain managed after a moment of pause. "Release on your mark, your Highness." And ominous red button blinked to life on her left armrest and a finger caressed it lightly. "Give us some room." He ordered and the helm officer silently relayed the command to move the fleet back and away from the doomed world even as their last gasp streaked toward them. It would be a largely ineffective last gasp as most of the Emblem weaponry would be dead long before it reached the fleet and what did would die under the curtain defensive missile and energy fire.

Pluto knew what she was doing. Knew her like the sister she virtually was. Some would view her need to push that button personally as some megalomaniacal need for vengeance. Of course, vengeance was a component part of her action, but not the sum total. She knew the Queen and it was personal responsibility that drove her now. If she was going to order the annihilation of an enemy home world, there would only be one person that responsibility and guilt would fall upon at the end of the day.

_Beep._

"Reading weapons release." The tactical officer reported. "Six Z90s down and running. Minus twelve seconds to impact."

The Z90 Point Singularity Weapon was the pinnacle in Silver Millennium strategic weaponry and six of those torpedoes descended into the Geidi Prime's gravity well at half the speed of light. Each warhead contained not only the planet crushing micro singularity itself, but a full suite of ECM and active beam weaponry to ensure the elongated oval would reach its target unmolested. Without orbital platforms to intercept the weapons, it was up to home world's surface batteries to intercept the lethal devices, but even this was a largely futile effort, unless the defenders had a few light years to spare. They didn't. Even if their efforts managed to penetrate the Z90's potent ECM suite, active beam defense and energy shielding, it still would have only destroyed delivery system, not the singularity itself, and planets weren't well known for their evasive abilities.

At eight seconds from impact, they separated, breaking formation and pursuing the most optimal route to detonation assigned to them before beginning their terminal dive.

"Units have armed, minus two." Tactical reported and suddenly, the planet darkened visibly. "Impact on all weapons."

The seat of The Emblem seemed untouched at first, nothing noticeable beyond the darkened hue that now surrounded it. Then it happened. Six Gaping holes began to mar the surface of Geidi Prime, sucking down the surrounding atmosphere and surface matter into a maw of unimaginable gravimetric pressure. Four of these singularities would have prolonged the planet's life another three minutes. As it was, a world that took millions of years to form would disappear in under a minute. With the surface matter and atmosphere sucked away, Geidi Prime faded into a featureless black sphere whose diameter steadily shrank as the micro black holes turned on one another from within.

The remaining mass coalesced to a pinpoint and hung in space a few more moments before destabilizing, streaming hard radiation into space in the form of a blinding point of light. What had once been the mass of six micro black holes and one category C8 planet with a population of thirty two billion was now loosed into the void as pure, white energy. The cosmic pyre lasted five more minutes before what remained of The Emblem home world flickered out entirely.

Silence hung across the bridge of the Agamemnon until Serenity broke it with a long, weary sigh. "Captain, take us home. I'll be in my quarters."

_Getting drunk_, Princess Pluto mentally appended, knowing her best friend all too well.

* * *

"Ah! My Pigtailed Goddess!" Ranma twitched as the words hit her ears. If there were two things she could count on during her lunch hour at school, it was fiancées and Kunos. "A word with you!" 

Ranma stopped having yet to touch her own lunch from under a nearby tree. One lunch in peace wasn't too much to ask, was it? She stared at the Kuno rushing for her and sighed. Evidentially it was. Might as well get whatever it was out of the way.

"Whaddya want, Kuno?"

"The Saotome's schemes are most foul this day!" He blustered, drawing his bokken and whipping his head around, presumably looking for the aforementioned Saotome. "It is said that he has ensnared you once more!"

Ranma shook her head. "And this is news… how, again?"

"My sources say he hath gifted you with a cursed stone!" Ranma froze as he continued his rant. "I must ask you to give up this wretched artifact or thou shall be his slave for all of eternity! I cannot allow this!"

_Soul of Ice, Soul of Ice, Soul of Ice…_ Ranma thought at the upperclassman in front of her. She was going to have to have some _words_ with a certain Tendo. "Look, Kuno… Don't know what Nabs has been--"

"Ran-chan!" Ranma blinked, and turned from the kendoist. Ukyo? "Are you alright!"

Ranma looked from Ukyo, to Kuno and back. The big idiot wasn't _that_ much trouble. "Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I hear you stumbled across a magic crystal!" Ranma rolled her eyes, annoyance spreading across her face. "It steals souls, Sugar!"

"Indeed, the Saotome's designs are more wicked then I first imagined!" Kuno latched onto her statement. "You must surrender the stone, pigtailed girl!"

"Look, both of you really need--"

"Aiya!" A red bicycle seemed to drop out of nowhere and skidded to a halt next to the tree, allowing an incredibly cute purple-haired Amazon girl to dismount. "Shampoo come as soon as she hear!"

Ranma closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. "Heard what, Shampoo?"

Not that he really needed to ask at this point. "Airen find ancient Amazonian artifact! Locks Jusenkyo curse!"

Ukyo looked stricken, as if the stealing souls part hadn't been enough. "Ran-chan's locked!"

Shampoo nodded and Kuno chimed in. "We must remove it from her person!"

Ranma ground down her teeth. "Ain't nobody--"

"Damn you, Saotome!" Ranma blinked, his mouth hanging open as a white robbed figure bounded up to the group and past them, settling in front of the tree. "Trying to enslave my Shampoo with a mind control rock! I won't allow it!"

"Stupid Mousse talk to tree again." Shampoo chided in an annoyed tone, prompting the Amazon boy to don his glasses, after which he quickly found the redhead.

"I'll take that rock from you, Saotome!"

Ranma began to crack her knuckles. "If that's the way you want--"

"Boy, give it up!" Now she was gaping as his and Akane's father leapt over the school wall, finding the growing spectacle. "It's making you act like a girl!"

"And you _will _marry my Akane!" Soun added. "The schools must be joined!" Genma nodded his firm agreement.

The redhead was gaping now. What the hell was going--

"That diamond could pay for our entire yearly budget!" Ranma's head swung around to find a mob of lab coat clad student converging on their position.

"And ours!" Another mob proclaimed, this one wielding various types of sports implements menacingly.

"_Ooooh Hoooo hoo_!" Black petals fluttered in the breeze and Kodachi Kuno landed lightly on a branch. "An engagement present for my Ranma-Sama, no doubt? I think not!"

"Ranma, m'boy!" A small old man bounced in, taking a puff of his pipe. "I hear you found a treasure for your master!"

Ranma took another deep breath and clenched his fist. "AIN'T NOBODY GETTIN' THE ROCK, SO BACK OFF!"

"It's making you act strange, Ranma." She swung around to find Akane and Nabiki at his back. "Anything that locks your girl-type can't be good for you."

"Hand it over, Saotome." Nabiki held out her waiting hand. "You know it's cursed. Even so, I can still make us all very rich--"

"It's not cursed, and I ain't givin' it up." Ranma's blue eyes sparkled despite the flat, no nonsense tone of her voice. She dug the sparkling diamond out of her pocket and stared into it. "Nobody touches it. Period."

"That's it?" Nabiki inquired with a mischievous smile. Ranma simply glared back at her. "Looks like there's only one choice left." The conclusion hung in the air until Kuno latched onto it, setting the ball rolling as she knew he would.

"I shall free you, pigtailed girl!"  
"Stay still, Ran-chan! This won't hurt a bit!"  
"Shampoo rid Airen of curse!"  
"For Shampoo, you Enemy of women!"  
"Shampoo no need help, stupid Mousse!"  
"Back off Sugar! I'll be the one to help Ranma!"  
"Take the Boy!"  
"Get over here, Son!"  
"I'll teach you not to disrespect your elders, Ranma!"  
"Wretched peasant-girl!"  
"For the Science club!"  
"Take him!"

The threat was clear and Ranma Saotome was already on the move as upwards of one hundred of Furikan's finest reached in to liberate the glistening stone from the redhead's person. Shampoo came in with a pair of Bon Bori and the martial artist sidestepped, only to leap over an inbound combat spatula, two hockey sticks and a tennis racket as she flowed through the combination. Genma stepped through the melee, and she found one of the few targets he could hammer without guilt. The father and his partner, Soun Tendo rushed in and the girl was engaged on two fronts as she pitched and weaved through their attacks, only to have another front opened when Mousse descended from on high, two claymores whistling from his sleeves. The pigtailed girl slid left and the long swords buried themselves into the earth she had just vacated. Her father loomed large and she engaged him with five fisted dragon chop combination, sending him to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Soun stepped up to take his place, only to be swatted down by Tatewake Kuno's bokken as the boy rushed in.

Ranma caught the whistling bokken between his hands twisted it sideways and snapped it in two before continuing through the movement and into the deranged kendoist, applying a well received foot to his face. The martial artist used the upperclassman's face as a spring board to escape the melee only to have three chained maces twist around his legs, yanking him rudely back to the earth. Ranma landed gracefully despite the entanglement, dodged another round of spatula shirukens from Ukyo and turned to his tormenter, the white robbed Amazon. She ducked as Mousse loosed a salvo of daggers into his general vicinity, taking out another group of students with flesh wounds. The redhead went low and gathered the chains, spun around and stepped back as Shampoo's bon bori crashed in, pulverizing the links. Ranma was about to clean up with the myopic Amazon when his priorities changed and three bombs settled around her person, fuses sizzling down.

_"Moko Takabisha!"_

Instead of at anybody, the ki burst slammed into the ground under her, blowing the bombs and several combatants away. Three flashes of light and the high explosives reserved for her exploded over a few more wayward students. Ranma didn't have time to congratulate herself as the perverted master blurred in, causing her to take the troll's pipe hand to hand. Another strike came in and Ranma disengaged as Ukyo and Shampoo found him near simultaneously, their own weapons picking up where Happosai's pipe left off. Ukyo's combat spatula arched in and Ranma hopped onto its flat as Mousses next round of chains blurred for her. The martial artist was airborne cleanly this time and the chains found Ukyo's spatula. A sharp tug later and the Okanomiyaki master was promptly disarmed. Ranma landed in a semi clear section of the mob and looked for an out. High power techniques were out of the question at this point as most of the combatants- while annoying -we're nowhere near his level. Happosai, his father and maybe Shampoo on a good day, but the rest… Half the mob was fighting one another now, but enough retained some sense of their goal to seek him out, and Ranma was quickly surrounded once again. They closed in and---

_Whip-SNAP!_

A pink ribbon wrapped around the wrist and hand that held the jewel and Ranma strained against it, following it back to the source. "I have you now, little wretch!" Ranma strained and found his hand beginning to bleed. A closer look at her snare found the ribbon leveraged against several branches of the tree Kodachi now balanced atop, magnifying the potency of the entanglement. It didn't help that the ribbon itself was titanium impregnated. Kodachi gave the ribbon a tug and Ranma strained against it some more. "_I _shall present Ranma-Sama with the gift of your love!"

Ranma growled and fire ignited in her eyes. **"NOBODY…"**

"Give up the wretched artifact, Pigtailed Goddess!"  
"Nobody enslaves my Shampoo, you Enemy of Women!"

**"TOUCHES…"**

"It's for your own good, Sugar!"  
"Airen let stone go!"

**"THE…"**

"Stop acting like a girl, Boy!"  
"Give up the Precious, Ranma m'boy!"

**"...ROCK!"**

Ranma's body erupted in a flash of light, and a pressure wave washed over the mob encroaching on the martial artist, blowing all but the sturdiest to the ground. Kodachi's ribbon instantly evaporated from her wrist and the insane girl tumbled from the tree. When their collective vision cleared, only gasps filled the air. Ranma stood bathed in a soft white glow, her red and black silks washed out to nearly white themselves. The crystal floated freely in on hand and her pigtail drifted on an ethereal breeze.

Her _silver_ pigtail.

Akane took another look, disbelieving her initial impression of the transformed martial artist. While the aura she projected was out of the ordinary, the completely silver crop of hair had her undivided attention. Ranma had everybody's undivided attention in fact, as the power now emanating from her was simply staggering, like tangible waves of pressure flowing out from her.

The fury died from her eyes and was replaced by steel. She took a deep, calming breath, her baleful gaze sweeping across every one of the former combatants. "Now let me make myself _absolutely_ clear… None of you are even worthy to look upon this thing, let alone _touch_ it." The fact that the thing in question was now floating an inch above her palm was apparently missed by Ranma. "Does everybody--"

"My Silver-haired pigtailed gi--!"

_PHHOOMP!_

A white sphere swirled in her free hand suddenly, and she brought it to bear on the leaping Kendoist. The ball inflated to the size of a small compact car and left her at height speed, plowing into the Kuno, who in turn plowed across the sports field as the energy sphere persisted, continuing five hundred meters down range where it promptly exploded in a flashed of pressure and light. Ranma chuckled silently as a small mushroom cloud of dust formed along the horizon. That had been a flash-bang. Great for blinding, deafening and stunning perverts, like that one while back… What was his name… Eddie? Edy? Eisen? The former redhead frowned as she neither knew an Eddie or used that attack before. Hell, it wasn't even ki based, of that she was certain. She stored that mystery away for later. First, it was time to wrap things up here.

"As I was saying…" She resumed with divine authority, "Do we have an understanding?" Nods all around. Nobody wanted an angry white yugo sized energy ball to call their own. The displeasure in her face disappeared and the glowing aura around her faded out, revealing Ranma's traditional red and black garb, and more importantly, her natural hair color. The crystal dropped and she snatched it from mid-air, pocketing it. Ranma cast one last look at the cowed mob before turning on a heel and walking away.

* * *

A blonde odango-atama stepped out of the convenience store with a plastic bag in and a smile on her face. Snacks were always just the thing to lighten her mood and she was, of course, the official Senshi snack bearer. Meetings meant Senshi and Senshi meant snacking. It was a duty well suited to the girl alternately known as Sailor Moon, as eating was a sport in and of itself to her. Her sisters in arms oft wondered where she got her formidable appetite, to which she replied her mother. 

The truth was often stranger than fiction.

From the bag she pulled a package of mochi and began munching on the soft snack greedily. It was one of the reason she loved her duties so much… It gave her first crack at the good stuff. She was about ready to down the second gelatinous square when tshe froze, the sweet pausing before her lips. The bag fell from her other hand as a spike of power rippled through her being, causing her instant recognition. _The Ginzuishou!_ Somebody had just used the Ginzuishou! Usagi's features paled as realization hit her in its entirety. Whoever had stolen the heirloom from her was now using it, and rather successfully by the wave of power she just felt.

The bag at her feet forgotten, Usagi Tsukino found the nearest back ally and initiated the transformation into her Moon aspect. Warnings from the future be damned, she thought to herself as she took to the rooftops.

…She had just been invited to Nerima.

* * *

**Author's Notes--**  
_Now this is fun. Serious fun for me. Yes, I should be working on the epilogues to **tBoT** and you'll be happy to know that the second is complete, but I seriously got hook in writing this particular crossover, especially since it's a road you don't see often taken. It started out as a __third epilogue to **tBoT**, believe it or not, but after bouncing the idea around, it was decided that there was more than enough backstory here to warrant its own series and way too much for a simple epilogue._

**The Silver Millenium Empire;** _The "Silver Millenium" is gernerally viewed as a time period, not an actually thing. Since I had nothing better to call Serenity's kingdom, I imaginitively tacked the "empire" part on for lack of anything better. Moon Kingdom is a US only translastion, therefor is not universally binding here. That and the SME sounds far more mencaing. Works for me._

**Serenity & the SME; **_What little we see of her in the series is portrayed as kind and gentle, but this fic takes a slightly different view of the queen. Consider for a moment, that the woman built an empire. The size and scope of it can be debated, but canon easily indicates that other worlds were involved beyond that of this solar system, and you generally don't wield that sort of authority without, at some point, kicking ass and taking names. To that end, I gave her the temperment and the tools with which to carve out that empire._

**Z90 PSW; **Don't even start on theoretical black hole physics. I already got the earful :p

**Special thanks** to **Fukufics** and **DCG** especially for some fine suggestions, as well as **Gaijin** for some excellent writing pointers.

* * *

v2 edit: Michiru would not say 'Meatball head'; is OOC, Near lightspeed weapons would not take 30 seconds to reach a target, assuming a stabndoff distance of just outside the moon (thanks RocsFlight) 


	2. Chapter 2

Yes, I'm finishing my other stuff as well! Shoo! Back, currs! Ahhharrg!

* * *

**Heir to the Empire - pt2**  
_By Ozzallos_  
A Fukufics (dotcom) Production 

**R**anma plucked at the dish in front of her, which consisted of Kasumi's noodles, some gyoza and a liberal amount of staring. Had it been Akane's cooking, the food might have very well done the staring, but as it was, it was the family members around her. Most of them had been present when she pulled the stops from the power she had kept bottled up since Saffron- power she barely knew existed -and now they kept their distance, figuratively if not literally. Nabiki, Akane, Genma and Soun's plates stood virtually untouched as they eyed the redhead warily, while Kasumi took curious glances at them, wondering what was wrong with her cooking. Nor was the family alone in their overt surveillance of the martial artist. Ukyo and Shampoo stood at the dining room perimeter watching Ranma's eating habits intently. Beyond them was a silently fuming Mousse, kept only in check by the memory of a glowing white pigtailed girl and the very sizable ball of power she had called up without any sort of strain.

For her part, Ranma wasn't exactly sure what had happened either. All she knew at that particular moment in time was that the crystal was the most important possession in her life besides her honor. It was not to be grubbed, hocked, salivated upon or insulted in any way shape or form. Why, exactly, she had no idea. There wasn't damn much she owned in this life, but that diamond… Uh-uh. Ain't nobody was touching it. Period. End of Story. Either way, the power hadn't come from the diamond. It had power itself, but that's not where the transformation came for. _That_ was born from the same pool that had spawned her final attack against Saffron.

Nodoka stepped out of the kitchen, find the family and house guests all staring at her son. The reason became painful obvious as she surveyed the situation herself. "Ranma, how long have you been a girl now?"

The grouped cringed as the Saotome matriarch asked the question they hadn't dared ask since the transformation. Ranma paused in her calorie intake, considering the question. "Mmmm… Pretty much all day."

"Why?"

There was the slightest hint of threat in the question, but if her son perceived it, it was ignored. "Don't feel like changin'."

Nodoka blinked. Normally her son had an incessant drive to change back to his male state, not wear his opposite gender like clothing. She needed to get to the bottom of this mystery if her son's manhood was at stake, and the stares from the table told her there was a good chance it was. "You're not… Um, what is the term… ?"

"Locked." Nabiki provided helpfully and Nodoka smiled gratefully in her direction.

"Thank you. Yes, your curse isn't 'locked', is it Ranma?"

The redhead took another bite of her noodles. "Probably not."

"It is as long as you have the crystal." Akane pointed out and Ranma flicked an annoyed look in her direction.

"Wait." A wizened voice came from the corner of the room, where they found Happosai sitting, puffing on his pipe. "The stone _locks_ Ranma into his girl form?"

"Got that right, Sugar." Ukyo supplied unhappily.

"And you don't _mind?_" He probed, to which Ranma shrugged.

"Not really."

"We have to get it away from him!" Genma growled, bolting upright. "I will not have my son acting like a girl!"

"We'll take it by force, old friend!" Soun joined the bald martial artist's side with a determined look.

"You'll do no such thing." All eyes swiveled on Happosai. Nabiki slapped her forehead. Of course. She should have seen this one coming. He turned to Ranma. "M'Boy, you'll guard that stone with your life!"

Ranma nodded with a smile. "Thanks, ya old fart."

The omnipresent authority figures looked on the old master in horror. "B-b-but Master!" Genma stammered. "The engagement--!"

"Feh." Happosai brushed past the technicality. "…is between you and Tendo, not myself. As for me, it means I get to see a lot more of Ranma in silky darlings!"

"My ass." Ranma stated before inhaling a gyoza.

"We can negotiate that." Happosai stated offhand.

"As her agent, all modeling goes through me." The middle Tendo switched gears like a Formula One pro.

"NABIKI!" Akane gaped at her sister's sudden betrayal. Likewise, the remaining fiancées were staring her down with looks that ranged form outright shock to incinerating death rays.

Happosai ignored them. "5000 yen?"

Nabiki shook her head. "Only if you want to see her in her boxers. 20000 yen, panties and lingerie.

"Done!" Happosai leapt up and the two shook on it. Ranma simply shook her head and went back to eating. Same ol', same ol'.

"But why Ranma not change back to boy-type?" Shampoo leaned forward with a frown. "Is odd, yes?"

"Got that right, girl." Ukyo rounded out. "Come on, Ran-chan, what's happening?"

All eyes turned expectantly on the redhead who cocked her head considering the question she wasn't sure of herself. The stone was important. It wasn't leaving her person. The stone was also overriding the Jusenkyo magic, which meant to return to her male state, she had to part with the stone, which wasn't about to happen. Nor had she any inclination to do so. Before, the girl felt like an itchy sweater to be worn. Useful, but ultimately annoying to be worn for any prolonged period. Now, the body fit her soul as smooth as silk. That in itself might have been worrisome if it didn't feel so natural, or the fact that the curse wasn't truly locked. All that, and…

"Not sure," She replied carefully. "But something's gonna happen."

"Phoenix birds?"

"Dragons?"

"Giant robots?"

Ranma shook his head at each of the inquiries fielded by his fiancées. "Naw, not that kind of something. Don't know what, but the Ginzuishou is old and it's mine… It means something…"

"The Ginzooywha…?" Ukyo latched onto the new word, attempting to wrap her tongue around it. "You _named_ it?"

"Pet rock, Saotome?" Nabiki asked with mirth. Ranma ignored her.

"Don't look at me, I didn't name it." The martial artist shrugged, then gained a thoughtful countenance. "Then again… maybe I did name it…"

"Ok, Ranma, you've succeeded in wierding us all out." Akane with a trace of annoyance. "Can't you give it to somebody for safe keeping? Like me?"

"Uh uh." Ranma countered and the youngest Tendo scowled. "It's too important."

"But… How?" The girl was genuinely curious now.

"You mean aside from saving you, Akane?" Nabiki arched an eyebrow. "It's only worth a damn fortune."

"More than that." Ranma stated evenly, and she had Nabiki's undivided attention.

"Worth more than a fortune?"

Ranma nodded. "Healin' Akane ain't the only thing it does. Not sure yet, but---"

"COME OUT IN THE NAME OF LOVE AND JUSTICE, VILLAN!"

Everybody blinked.

"Now why does that sound familiar?" Akane asked herself while Ranma and the others found their way.

"Challenges around back." Nabiki grumbled. "Why don't they ever read the sign? That's where the camera equipment is set up."

"More guests?" Kasumi blinked, but Ranma knew better. She cleared the door and found the blond perched atop the wall and silently thanked God that this particular challenger hadn't opted to go _through_ it instead. Whoever she was, the blond in the blue fuku was leaking all sorts of sorts of power.

They gathered outside and the odangoed blond gazed upon them imperviously. "One of you has something of mine! Return it and I shall spare your punishment!"

Of course, there could only be one thing that a female with paranormal abilities in odd costume could want in Nerima, Japan.

_"Another fiancée, Ranma?" _Akane growled and the redhead sighed.

"No, she ain't a fiancée." Ranma shook her head, and turned to the wall-borne girl. "Uh, you aren't a fiancée are you?"

The question stalled the blond's purpose momentarily. The girl was asking is she was a… "Fiancée?"

"'Cuz you look darn familiar…" Ranma finished, scrutinizing the girl further. All sorts of bells were going off in her head as she took in the details, but none to which she could anchor recollection to. Even the power emanating from the girl was _damn_ familiar.

Moon blinked several times, unsure what to make of the girl who was wondering if she was a fiancée… Which would make her a… Ewwww… Usagi cut that thought short. She didn't even want to go there. Regardless, there were formalities to dispense with "No, I'm not a fiancée! I'm a Soldier of Love and Justice! I'm Sailor Moon!"

The crowd stared as the blonde struck a heroic pose and recognition flashed across their faces, minus one redhead and the male audience. Akane's eyes instantly widened. "OHMYGOG!OHMYGOD! It's Sailor Moon! I'll be right back! I have to get the picture for you to autograph!" The youngest sister was gone back inside like a shot. 

Used to such reaction, Moon shrugged it off. She had more important business to attend to. "One of you has the Ginzuishou! Return it and I will spare you the painful dispensation of justice."

The crowd immediately cleared, leaving the redhead at its center. She pulled the shining crystal from her pocket. Usagi's eyes widened. "Guess that'd be me." Her gaze narrowed sharply on the blond and her face took on a look that was all business. "But it ain't yours and you ain't touchin' it."

Sailor Moon's mask mirrored Ranma's and she hopped down from the wall. "That," She hissed, "Is my mother's heirloom. I give you one last chance to return it." The redhead stared back at her with a patronizing smirk and flipped the crystal into the air, catching it with ease. Moon's own gaze narrowed dangerously on the girl. "Fine then. I'll take it by force."

The redhead slid into an attack stance, grinning the entire time.

"You're welcome to try."

* * *

Ami took another look down at her watch and tapped on it with annoyance. The snack bearer was late. She looked around at the assembled Senshi, who sat lazily around the room with expressions that ranged from boredom to dejection. It was an understandable situation, as it was hard to have a meeting without their Princess present. 

Haruka's nails clicked against the tabletop in front of her, her annoyance clear. "Four blocks from here to the store. Even meatball head couldn't have gotten lost from there."

"Probably taking first crack at the snacks." Rei added, stifling a yawn. That earned nods from the rest of the Senshi, who knew their princess all to well.

"Still not here?" Setsuna inquired, walking out of the kitchen with a hot cup of tea. Again, nods all around. The Princess of Pluto shook her head. "Ok, we've waited long enough. Somebody can fill her in later." She turned to Ami. "Anything on the crystal?"

Ami pulled the Mercury link from her purse and began to detail her findings. "Nothing as of noon today." She tapped a few keys on the link. "Still got that trickle energy, but nothing… Whoa!" All eyes were riveted to her now. "Huge SME spike about thirty minutes ago."

The gears began to turn and Setsuna came to a disturbing conclusion. "And how long ago has Moon been gone?"

"You can't be serious." Michiru sat upright at the obvious implication. Haruka was right there with her.

"You're saying meatball head…?"

"Ignored the advice from the future and went to get Ginzuishou herself." Pluto finished, shacking her head with disappointment. She didn't know how exactly, but she knew this was going to screw all sorts of things up.

"Power up, girls. We're rolling for Nerima."

* * *

"A Fuku?" Queen Serenity arched an eyebrow, eyeing the mannequin before her. The blue and white color scheme was admittedly catchy, but… 

"So what's wrong with the body suits they're currently equipped with?" The Princess of Pluto asked, circling around the figure with a critical eye.

"Nothing in particular…" The black cat with the yellow moon on its forehead stated easily from a nearby seat.

"…Save the image they conjure up." The white cat beside it finished. Both the queen and her second in command wore masks of incomprehension, so she explained. "To date, the crown has been involved in thirty five aquisions of territory, landed marines on fifty two planets…"

"…and destroyed three worlds via point singularity." The white cat continued. "The Senshi themselves have been instrumental in at least half of these actions, and popular opinion is that they've become your personal… um…"

Setsuna noticed the advisor's reluctance to continue with further criticism, and stepped in for the pair. "I think what Luna and Aremis are trying to say is that the Senshi are in danger of being viewed as your personal shock troopers, your Highness."

Serenity looked from one nodding cat to the other. "But that's ridiculous. They're champions of the realm, not the royal assassins."

"Of course not, your Majesty." Luna insisted, hoping down from his chair. "But you're aware of the politicos back on Earth, of course."

"Of course." Serenity snorted. They were a well known thorn in the Crown's side.

Artemis affected a cat-like smile. "So we thought we would take one of their primary talking points away from them."

"With a fuku." The Queen replied skeptically and the cats nodded.

"A public relations coup, your Highness." Luna offered, and Serenity appeared to consider it. It was one of the more annoying sticks the Unionist movement incessantly poked her with. She'd go about bringing a sector out of the war torn dark ages and they'd interpret it as her imperialistic drive to conquer the galaxy. The Senshi, were, of course her foot soldiers in the dictatorial endeavor. "We plan to give your champions a more personable image."

"But can it do the job?" Pluto got right to the point, still somewhat wary that such a garment could survive an alpha landing onto a hostile, enemy held world.

"That and more." Deimos, one of the weapons facilities lead techs stepped forward, having witnessed the entire exchange. the long, black haired woman was only distinguishable from her twin sister, by the blue lab coat she wore. Both had figures to die for. "We've damn near tripled the damage absorption capacity of the imbedded magical wards…"

"… while increasing the offensive throughput to the armor by nearly fifty percent." The red Phobos explained, flipping her own black hair back. "Once bound to a world, a skilled user will be able to tear through a Beowulf class cruiser in their stage five state with ease."

Pluto's eyes widened with appreciation, and the blue garbed twin continued. "We're also close to ironing out the bug that has been limiting the elemental attack power in the planetary bindings."

"…On top of giving the Unionists a slap in the face." Serenity finished with the slightest of smiles. She gave the fuku one last look. "What do you think, Set-chan?"

"It does have that love and justice thing happening, Serenity-chan." Pluto appraised, tugging at the fabric. "It kind of grows on you."

Serenity shrugged. Even she had to admit it was kind of catchy. "Alright, I'll take it under advisement. Let's move on then." Pluto could almost see the Queen switching mental gears. "Project Shadowburn."

Any mirth born from sticking it to the Serenity's political opposition, or having a fuku as heavy armor was gone, and everybody in the chamber got down to business. Deimos took up the Serenity's topic. "We're at seventy percent at the moment. We'll be binding ley-lines six through twelve in a couple of days and will be go for a preliminary power-up test in, say, two weeks."

"The stage five?" Pluto asked, tugging a strand of her shoulder length green hair absently.

"Saturn's stage five power projections are on target." Phobos continued. "We should have no problems meeting the strategic requirements the crown has outlined."

Serenity nodded, her face deep in thought. She had questioned her judgment throughout every step of this project, but she hadn't gotten this far by second guessing herself. Her champions were a direct representation of herself and she was determined to give power necessary to carry out the mandate... Even if that mandate included the destruction of an entire world. "How are the candidates looking? I'm less concerned about the power curve than I am about who we put in charge of it."

"We're down to three, your highness." Luna replied. She hopped back atop her pillar after a cursory inspection of the fuku. "Aiko Hinaka, Hotaru Tau and Hikari Suka."

"Any one of these three would make an excellent choice, your Highness." Artemis finished, retaining his position next to the mannequin. "All are in good physical health, are intelligent, psychologically stable and absolutely loyal to the crown."

Serenity considered the candidates, all of whom she knew quite well by now as she had combed every line of their profiles herself, as had Setsuna. The two women both look at one another and an unspoken conversation seemed to float between them. Pluto shrugged. "I say Tau. She's a tiny little thing, but she has that calm, peaceful air about her…"

"Agreed." Serenity also nodded. More than anything, that was the sort of personality she wanted in charge of that much power; Somebody you'd have to seriously push to destroy a world. Likewise, that same personality would be well suited to Saturn's secondary strategic mandate… the reformation of dead ones. She turned back to her advisors. "Miss Tau gets the green light. Keep the others on file as backups." The Advisors made the requisite mental notes, and the Queen continued. "Next order of business?"

"The Crown's recent expansion into the Delta Quadrant indicates that we might need to bring the other planets online, your Highness." Deimos reported. "A list of champions has been prepared for both Mars and Jupiter…"

* * *

"Ranma, stop beating up on Sailor Moon!" 

"I ain't beatin' up on her, Akane!" Ranma protested as another punch floated lazily by her. Lazy by Ranm's standards, that is. Anything else probably would have been pulverized by the magically enhanced strike… Had it been able to actually hit its target. "Heck, she's doing a good job of that on her own!"

It was true, too.

The redhead was dancing around the champion of love and justice, skillfully evading her attacks and inevitably tripping the Senshi up in her own maneuvers. While her innate fighting ability was sub par at best, Ranma knew she was beat when it came to absolute power. If the blond ever managed to tag her with that pink blast attack of hers or get a punch in, it was going to _hurt_. Another pink bolt flashed out and obliterated another section of the Tendo property wall. _Amateur_, Ranma snort to herself with mild disgust. After nearly two and a half years of sparring on this property, she, Ryoga, Mousse and all the fiancées could wage all out war on it without damaging a single blade of grass, let alone the mass destruction that this Moon girl was creating. Of course, moon-girl might have that sort of precision too if she had been subject to Nabiki's billing and Kasumi's admonishments.

All in all, Akane was suffering from a nasty bout of fallen hero worship, as she watched her heroine, Sailor moon, come up empty versus her fiancée. She was hoping the Senshi would get at least one good hit in, if only to knock Ranma's ego down a peg or two. Sadly this was far from the case as evidenced by Ranma's next comment.

"Hell, Akane, you got a better chance of hittin' me than the Moon-girl here!"

…Which wasn't saying much about the Tendo's level of skill, though it did cause her to glow with pride nonetheless. Ranma had just complimented her fighting abilities! The blond wasn't so happy about the comment, however.

"Stand still and take your punishment, thief!" Sailor Moon panted, trying for a high flying kick that came up with nothing but empty air.

Ranma rolled her eyes, hopping back out of range easily. "Told ya, it ain't yours." She paused just long enough to take a closer look at the girl. "You _sure_ I don't know you?"

"I'm NOT your fiancée and _you_ have my mother's heirloom!" Moon growled and flashed forward; almost at a speed that would have pressed the martial artists own ability. Sadly, almost didn't cut it and the redhead was by her with ease, untouched.

"That was better, but your form still needs tons of work." Ranma commented, then glanced at the stone in his hand. "How'd you know what it was named, anyway?"

Rage flashed through Usagi's eyes. "I told you IT'S MINE!" her hand came up to the band of gold resting on her forehead. _"Moon Tiara Action!" _The golden arc cut across the yard and Ranma sidestepped it easily, staring at it curiously as it flew by.

_ThwAAP!_

Kasumi's eyes widened in horror as the tiara flew by at high speed, and lopped of a corner of the house porch. Ranma glanced back and saw the horrified sister, while Nabiki pulled out a small notepad, shaking her head. She popped out a pen and made a scribbled, undoubtedly noting the dollar value of the damage. Ranma sighed as Moon retrieved the Tiara on its return arc. Ranma could take the bill Nabiki would most likely be adding to her tab. Damaging Kasumi's household and by extension Ranma's home was a sin that would demanded action.

"Okay, playtime's over, little girl." Ranma's gaze narrowed, and Moon watched as the girl became a red blur, cutting in through her guard. Instead of the punch Usagi had been expecting, a foot slid between her legs first and kicked them out from under her. Physics took it from there and Sailor Moon promptly fell to the Earth where upon Ranma rotated around, snatched up the girls' right arm and locked it painfully behind her back, eliciting a squeal.

"Let me go, evil doer!" Usagi managed between the yelps of pain, Ranma teetering the join painfully at the edge of hyperextension. She had briefly considered getting some rope, but seriously doubted they had anything handy that would hold the blond's enhanced strength. "When my friends arrive you'll be-- YOW!"

Ranma tweaked the joint tighter. "Then your friends had better bring along a bottle of skill, because if you're any indication of theirs, they're just as shit out of luck."

_"I think we'll manage."_

Ranma turned around, hauling Moon around in the same direction with a couple of painful grunts. "See! I told you-- YIEEP!"

Ranma tugged on the arm once more to silence the annoying girl, so she could fully concentrate on the new comers. She had missed their approach in the fight, having been so intent on figuring out just who the blond here was. Now Ranma faced off against the next wave of wall borne magical girls, who out numbered her eight to one, nine if she included the moon-girl. The colored fukus were triggering all sorts of vague recognition in the redhead even though she was neither a fan of Akane's Sailor Senshi, let alone ever seeing them before tonight. But she had. She sure as hell didn't know where, but--

"Let the Princess go or face the consequences." Ranma's eyes snapped onto the Senshi in the black and white fuku, her green, waist length hair flowing in the afternoon breeze.

"By all means, take the consequences." Another black and white clad Senshi advised. The short haired dishwater blond cracked her knuckles in anticipation.

Sailor Moon was about ready to force herself free with a burst of strength when she suddenly found herself tumbling forward, free of the monstrous redhead's grip. After the pasting she had received, Usagi certainly hadn't expected the girl to cave so easily. She spun around to face her and found the formerly patronizing mask wiped completely away in favor of pure shock. The redhead took a step back.

"Who… _who the hell are you people?_" She whispered, staring at the Senshi as if they were ghostly apparitions. It was an emotion none of the Tendos or fiancées in waiting had ever seen outside Ranma wading waist deep in cats. It was panic. Ranma was without peer in the martial arts, a person absolutely sure of her abilities and skill, and now she was staring at a bunch of magical girls, pale as a ghost.

"Ranma…?" Akane ventured, taking a tentative step forward.

"I don't know any of you… I don't!" Ranma's eyes flicked wildly from girl to girl, before locking onto the Senshi with waist length green hair… "_You're…_"

"Neptune, secure the Princess. Uranus, the Ginzuishou." Pluto ordered flatly and the pair rushed forward. Where Michiru stopped by the Usagi's side and pulled her back, Haruka continued her leap forward into the dazed redhead, pulling back for a vicious right cross. Even while the others stood in shock, Nabiki simply smiled the smile of a shark and wished to God there was somebody around to take the bet against Ranma. The martial artist may have been clueless, a walking appetite and utterly without social skills, but it'd be a cold day in hell before the new girl ever touched her. The punch blazed by and Nabiki shook her head as Ranma avoided it totally on reflex, despite the shock.

She almost hated to be right so damn often.

Something clicked in the martial artist and Uranus found her at the redhead's level for a moment that seemed to hang in time before the girl reacted. She reached out as if she had all the time in the world and tapped the outstretch arm slightly, changing the magical girl's vector, sending her auguring violently into the ground and across the yard in a plume of dust. Pluto blinked. Uranus was a seasoned combat veteran and specialized in martial arts. Even if none of the girls were fully up to speed with their memories, Haruka shouldn't have gone down _that_ easily. Setsuna silently notched the redhead's threat a few levels higher and turned back to the waiting Inners.

"Mercury, Jupiter. Relieve Neptune. Saturn, on me." Pluto rattled off the orders as she revised her strategy on the fly. "Venus, Mars, triple team the bitch with Neptune. _Drop her_." The four were off the wall in a flash, landing next to Neptune. The girls reformed, two stepping back with Usagi while the remaining three stepped into attack positions. Mars eyed her opponent, considering taking the girl hand to hand but stopped on seeing the girl's stance. Combined with the ease she had taken Haruka out, something told her she'd be dog meat if she closed with the redhead. No problem, she though and shifted her stance. She may be God's gift to martial artists, but she didn't have _this…_

_"Fire Soul!"_ She called out and the fire ball sprang from her fingers and race into the redhead who promptly leapt an impossible twenty feat skyward, clearing the fire bolt and falling into the trio. It was only her basic conditioning that saved her from taking the initial mid kick to the gut, while the girl followed through, opening her guard and jabbing her three times with the first two fingers of her hand.

_"Rolling screw punch!"_

_"Deep Submerge!"_

The redhead was forced to withdraw from Sailor Mars in order to evade the super charged uppercut and water bolts sent her way via Venus and Neptune, much to Rei's relief. Even as she watched, the girl was around the water attack, snatching Minako's extended arm out of the air, reversing the angle and sending her face first into the ground. Mars twitched and readied another elemental attack when her extremities went dead, feeling draining away from them. The words "what the hell" were just forming on her lips when she hit the earth, completely limp.

The fiancés and family watched as the horrible scene took place. On one hand, most of the girls present knew about the defenders of love and justice, though why they were attacking their fiancée to be was a complete mystery. Normally they'd have no qualms with coming down on Ranma's side with a liberal amount of whoop-ass in tow, but for once, they were unsure who to root for-- Their national heroines or the sometimes fiancée.

Sailor Neptune took a split second to assess the situation and leapt back to Usagi and her entourage. The move had the advantages of opening up the girl to her ranged attacks or forcing her to accept four to one odds, not counting Pluto on the wall. Despite her wishful tactical designs, Michiru frowned. Haruka was only now recovering from her assault, and both Rei and Minako were down. Had she not fallen back, the Outer was certain she might have very well joined them for a dirt nap. She took a glance back at Pluto and made eye contact. Pluto nodded and hopped off the wall, walking easily to her side. Saturn followed silently, Glaive in hand.

For her part, Ranma's pit of déjà vu festering within her stomach was growing by leaps and bounds. She new these girls. _All of them_. She wasn't sure how or in what detail, but something was telling her they shouldn't be fighting. Especially the straight-haired green one. Ranma felt a power level at her back rise, and knew her first victim had nearly recovered. Likewise the orange fuku'd blond, who was peeling her face from the dirt. Give 'em another minute and it would be back to eight against one and she could be damn sure they wouldn't be as reckless. The green haired one wouldn't let them, somehow Ranma was certain of that. Once that happened, she'd have to pull out all the stops to keep the stone in her possession, and that meant mass property damage. Ranma cringed at the mental image of a magic girl fueled Hiryu Shoten Ha.

Sailor Pluto stepped to the front. She knew the odds too and cast a hard stare at the redhead. "This is your last opportunity to hand over the Ginzuishou." She stated coldly. "After that, we break you."

Ranma growled, clenching the rock in her fist. "Can't you people get it through your thick heads! _Nobody_ touches the rock!" Her fiery gaze leveled on the leader. "You of all people should know that, Setsuna!"

Pluto blinked. Impossible. The girl had just called her by civilian identity. She mentally checked her armor's wards to insure the disguise field was, in fact, online and functional.

"How the _hell_ do you know my name?"

Ranma had no idea, but it was the only strand of knowledge she could pull on at the moment. "How the hell am I supposed to know!" The redhead blurted. "You're Setsuna Meiou, born in Solstice, Pluto, have two brothers, hate cockroaches, can't dance for the life of you even though you profess to loving the Corellian Waltz, whatever the heck that is." Ranma paused, taking a breath while fighting to keep the panic out of her voice. "Hell, I even know you can down sixteen shots of Mercurian fire wine before passing out!"

Now it was Pluto's turn to stumble back, taking a sharp breath. There was nobody alive that should have known that… Absolutely nobody. There was one person however… but she was dead. Long dead. Over two thousand years dead. The Princess of Pluto paled. It was an absolutely impossible conclusion to come to. While the Senshi stumbled over her own thoughts, everybody's eyes were on the pair, wondering on the events that led to the abrupt caesura of hostilities.

Like everybody else, Nabiki stared at Ranma. "Solstice, Pluto, Saotome?"

"What kind of name is Meiou?" Ukyo cocked her head glancing from green to red.

Shampoo shrugged. "Is cat girl too?"

"Corellian Waltz?" Michiru leaned over to Setsuna with an arched eyebrow.

"Mercury has wine?" Ami mouthed, blinking in disbelief.

Akane took a few hesitant steps up to the martial artist who whose eyes were locked on the Senshi in front of her. Had anyone asked her, she would have said Ranma was lying. Not just lying, but lying out his/her ass with such outlandish responses, save two things: Ranma couldn't lie for the life of her and the woman she had lied to was in absolute shock.

"Ranma," she began tentatively. "Just how do you know… Her?"

The martial artist couldn't tear her eyes off the 'her' to save her life, but managed an answer anyway. "Honest to God, Akane, I don't have a clue… But I do."

"Oh my, " Kasumi started, her hand over her mouth. "You're not a magical girl too, are you Ranma?" The question earned the dry looks of the entire group, save one person who was still staring at the redhead. That person didn't even notice Sailor Uranus creeping up behind Ranma hand poised to strike.

"GOTCHA!" Uranus hollered her hand closing around the one that held the Ginzuishou. She applied pressure to the arm, attempting to reverse the joint. "We'll sort all this out after you give up the--!"

She had the advantage for approximately two seconds before a spotlight flashed into her retinas, turning them to jello. The hold was immediately released in favor of clutching her fried eyeballs which sang with pain. The Senshi stumbled back and hit the ground while everybody not at ground zero was able to witness the spectacular transformation for themselves. The glowing white swirled around the martial artist and her clothing was leached of color once more in favor of the soft white that surrounded her. With it, the red crop of hair was gone, replaced by a silver hue that shimmered in the afternoon sun. The glow faded and Uranus scrubbed her sight clear, finding a pair of blue eyes and a transformed woman staring down upon her.

"You don't wanna do that again," The silver haired pig tailed girl responded coldly. "_Haruka Rekki_."

Uranus blinked, rapidly lapsing into the same form of shock that had overcome Pluto. Who the hell was this girl! The body definitely was the same, but the hair and white clothing…No. No way. No way in HELL… And while her last name wasn't Rekki, it sounded _damn_ familiar. A glance back at Pluto revealed a sight she never thought she'd see on her superior-- Gaping shock. The Princess of Pluto took another stumbling step, this one forward. Her next words came out as a barely audible whisper.

_"Serenity-chan!"_

Neptune and Saturn heard those words however and twitched making the same connections their sisters were already beginning to make. They watched with morbid fascination as Pluto took another step forward. And another. The next one turned into a lurching sprint that slammed into the silver haired martial artist sending both staggering back as Setsuna latched onto her as if she were a life preserver.

"Your Highness! Oh my God! But how…!" The Guardian of Time gibbered wildly while Ranma struggled through the embrace half heartedly. She knew it wasn't going to be an attack, but this…! She stared down at the green haired woman, who now had tears streaking down her cheeks. "I don't care how! I just don't! It's been so long and I didn't think…!"

The Princess of Uranus stared at one girl then the other, instantly making the connection. The short haired blond pulled herself off the ground and lowered herself into a kneeling position at Setsuna's side, an action immediately followed my the Senshi of Neptune and Saturn. "Please accept our humblest apologize, Your Highness! We had no idea…!" It sounded like a lame excuse to her, but it was the best Uranus could come up with through the shock and awe of the moment.

Everybody else, however, was still in the dark. For the remaining Senshi, it was a scene out of the twilight zone as the Outers, who bowed to nobody were now bowing to the Ginzuishou thief. Even Setsuna, Miss Mystery herself was not just showing emotion, but positively gushing with it over the red-turned-silver haired girl. Speaking of silver hair, the only other time they had seen _that_ was… Tiny, Christmas tree sized light bulbs began to go off in their heads.

Usagi was well and truly confused now, looking at Ami with a plaintive expression. "Um, I thought _I_ was the 'Highness' here…" Ami shrugged without a clue and continued to take in the spectacle.

From the other end of the yard, the Tendo household and fiancées in waiting were suffering from much the same reaction, though to a lesser extent. These were, after all, people well acquainted with the strange. The light show most of them had seen. The 'your highness' part was definitely a new addition, along with the magical girls bowing at Ranma's feet.

"Oh my," Kasumi gasped, taking in the transformation for the first time. "I was right! Ranma _is_ a magical girl! What beautiful hair!"

Akane stared at her eldest sister with cockeyed disbelief before turning back on Ranma. "Ranma, what the hell is going on?" She hissed with equal part impatience and disbelief. Beautiful women, specifically her heroines were now worshipping her fiancée. There were explanations to be had and few were forthcoming.

That didn't stop Nabiki from taking a crack at it.

"Care to explain this one, Saotome?" She smirked as the green haired Senshi finally regained her composure. "Wait, I've got it… White glow, silver hair… You're the new Queen of the Fairies, right?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Ranma hissed back at the amused sister, clearly out of her depth. She stared at the two bowing magical girls and the tear strewn one standing before her and took a deep breath. "Look, um… Don't know what's goin' on, but you can stop the bowing and stuff." Then she added as almost an afterthought. "And I ain't givin' you the rock."

This only caused Uranus and Neptune to lower their crouch before her even further. Michiru wore a pained expression. "Our most humble apologize for trying to take it, your Eminence."

Ranma rolled her eyes at the largely futile effort to bring the pair off their knees and turned to the one that was, at least still standing… In spite of the awed expression on her face. "Look, Set-chan, tell 'em to get up. This is really, _really_ weirding me out." It took a moment for the green haired Senshi to react, but she slowly began to coax the Outers out of their reverent kneel while Ranma was wondering why she had just referred to the Magical Girl so informally. In that time, Mercury stepped up to Pluto's side.

"You don't think its wise to let her call us by our civilian identities, do you?" She broached the topic as the trio of Outers found their legs. "I mean, we don't even know--"

"_Queen Serenity_," Pluto bit softly so there was no mistaking the emphasis, "can call us whatever the hell she wants."

"And I ain't no Queen Serenity." Ranma punctuated the conversation, causing Ami to blink and do something she should have done earlier; pull out the Mercury computer link. She flipped open the clamshell PDA and pointed it in Ranma's direction.

Her mouth fell open as the reading on Ranma came pouring in. "She's… She's….!" Her head snapped from Pluto to Ranma then back to Pluto. "God, she's saturated with Silver Millennium Energy! The Ginzuishou is in almost perfect alignment with her being!" There was reason for Ami to be startled, as the feat she was witnessing had taken Usagi just over three years to do since acquiring the artifact. This girl had only had it for _weeks._

Setsuna had regained much of her composure by now and let a small smile escape her placid mask. "That's because she's the one who _made_ it, Ami."

"But that's… That's…" Now it was her turn to gibber as that single statement and all the facts available to her led to one and only one conclusion. Usagi stepped forward with the remaining Senshi in tow and somewhat annoyed expression on her face.

"I don't know what's going on," She huffed, "But can I please have the Ginzuishou back now?"

"Don't listen too well do ya?" Ranma snapped, finally relieved to be back on familiar ground as she patronized the blond. "Your Mom drop you on your head as a child or something?"

It was all Pluto could do to keep from collapsing in fits of laughter. She quickly reigned herself in as this new dilemma presented itself. Obviously the Queen's memories were fragmented at best, and even that appeared to be wishful thinking at the moment. She glanced from Serenity to Usagi and winced mentally as they faced off. Evidentially Serenity's memories hadn't gotten quite that far yet. Oooh, this could get ugly, she thought and found herself desperately fighting the urge to simply stand back and let the confrontation happen again.

Before she could intervene, Mercury stepped between the pair eyes shifting nervously between the two. "Uh, heh… You don't want to fight again, do you?"

Ranma shrugged. "Fighting's okay by me."

"I want the Ginzuishou back!" Usagi growled.

Pluto put a gentle hand on Moon's shoulder. "Trust me when I say this. _No_, you _don't_."

"I… I don't?" Sailor Moon mimed, unable to quite comprehend the turn of events.

"No." Pluto returned softly. "The Ginzuishou is in safe hands." She took a glance back at Ranma. "The absolute _safest_ hands it could possibly be in."

"But…"

"Ami, take Moon. Fill her in… And the others." Pluto ordered and Mercury managed a weak smile. "Saturn, Uranus, Neptune… Alpha detail." The three outers fell in, taking flanking positions behind Ranma, who stared curiously. Finally, the Nerima Wrecking Crew began to filter over as Mercury lead Usagi and the Inners off to explain the world as she knew it.

"Don't suppose you wanna tell anybody what's going on, Ran-chan?" Ukyo questioned, eyeing the three remaining magical girls warily.

"Even as a girl my son is so manly!" Nodoka beamed at Ranma, having a slightly different take on the same scene.

"Why magic girls bow to Ranma?" The purple haired Amazon asked curiously, then came to a conclusion that annoyed her to no end. "Is best not be new fiancées…"

"Look, they ain't--"

"Damnit, Ranma, can't you go five minutes without getting in trouble?" Akane fumed, that hint of incredulity still hanging in her voice.

For once, Genma and Soun stayed silent, unsure what to make of the scene, though there was one male in the attending audience who couldn't restrain himself. Beautiful women and short skirts were all that were needed to set the perverted master in motion.

"Pretty Ladies! _Sweeto!_"

Four lines of energy intersected with Happosai's leap as Ranma, Pluto, Neptune and Uranus spun around unleashing bolts of pink and white energy into the diminutive troll, blasting the scorched figure skyward and far off into the horizon. Nabiki stared at the pair as Ranma and Setsuna stared at one another.

"Well, they're okay in my book." Nabiki shrugged, losing sight of Happosai in the dusk sky. "So come on, Saotome, what's the story?"

The pigtailed girl stared at her own hands as if not believing the energy that had sprung reflexively from it. "Damned if I know…"

"I think I can explain." Setsuna offered, only to be interrupted by Usagi's screech from across the yard.

"SHE'S WHAT?"

Pluto shook her head as the Inner's circle erupted into chaos. "As I was saying… Ranma, right?" The girl in question nodded. "Well, I'm not sure how to put this…"

"SHE CAN'T BE!"

Setsuna rolled her eyes. "Ranma… You're… The reincarnation of Queen Serenity, ruler of the ancient Silver Millennium Empire." Silence hung in the air for a moment before the short, cobalt blue haired girl next to Ranma began to stifle a chuckle. The one with the pageboy cut smirked mischievously and Ranma herself frowned. "What? Did I miss something?"

"Only the biggest practical joke in Nerima." Nabiki stated while Akane continued to snicker.

"You're nuts and I ain't no girl." Ranma stated, though his footing on what used to be the solid ground of reality was slippery at best, since she sure didn't have anything to explain how she knew so much about these girls around her.

"Not… a girl?" Pluto picked through the words carefully, doubting she heard them right.

"Water?" Ranma asked of nobody in particular.

"Stone?" Nabiki smiled, holding out her hand expectantly. Ranma slapped herself upside the forehead mentally. Of course. As long as she had the stone on her, that wasn't going to work, and she damn well wasn't going to give it to Nabiki. Couldn't trust it with any of the fiancées either. Kasumi was probably trustworthy, but not a secure receptical for the valuble artifact.

Kasumi proffered a hot kettle while staring at Ranma's hair with fascination. Ranma took it absently with a 'thanks' and handed the Ginzuishou to Pluto on reflex. "Here. Hold this."

"Wait just a minute!"  
"Ran-chan how could you!"  
"No give Meow-girl Amazon jewel!"  
"Why don't you trust me, Ranma!"

Ranma paused before upturning the kettle onto herself, staring into her protesting fiancées. "Because _she'll_ give it back." Ranma didn't know how she knew it, but she did, and poured the water down around her. Setsuna's mouth opened as she witnessed the transformation, finding a silver haired, blue eyed _boy _standing before her. Ranma witnessed the reaction she had seen too many times to count and filled her in on the vital details without prompting. "China, curse, warm water, boy, cold water, girl."

"Uh, Ranma?" Akane beckoned his attention, relieved that he had finally resumed his birth form, but… She pointed at his hair and Nabiki provided a mirror from her make-up compact. Ranma blinked. Still silver.

"Well that ain't right…" Ranma mused, tugging at his silver pigtail.

"So you were… born this way?" Pluto ventured while Hotaru, Haruka and Michiru stared.

"Well, yeah… Minus the silver hair." He amended, and Pluto was beginning to wonder if her own emotions had betrayed her. The Queen of the Silver Millennium… Born a male? But she… he had the memories… knew who she was… "Sorry, Set-chan. I ain't the Queen you're looking for."

Red eyes scrutinized every detail of the martial artist and she began to doubt. But the knowledge… The mannerisms were dead on for the Serenity she knew… before Usagi was born. And the Ginzuishou… No. There was one last test. She had to be certain and she prayed to God that her friend would forgive her, either here or from the spirit world. "Possibly, but I ask one last favor of you… If it amounts to nothing, then we leave. But if… Well, we'll get to that."

"Do you worst." Ranma shrugged. Setsuna did exactly that. She held up the Ginzuishou to the pig-tailed boys level and spoke.

_"Meridian."_

Ranma's eyes widened and the mental sledgehammer came raging in. There was nothing coherent in the tidal wave of images that were nothing more than flashes… Feelings… echos of memories that still eluded his grasp. Still, there was one thing that he could make out… A dark crystal… And despair. The martial artist fell to his knees gasping at breaths he couldn't quite capture while the horror welled up inside him. Somewhere, seemingly miles off Akane screamed and there was a commotion, but it was nothing compared to the screaming echoing in his mind. The charred crystal ignited, burning from inside out with orange flame. The screaming intensified. Ranma's fist slammed into the ground as he fought to build a wall against the agony. Finger nails ground into the dirt while her free hand clutched his head as if he could somehow rip the images of the pyre from his brain.

Ranma was on the verge of drawing his own blood as her hand drew down the side of her head when salvation appeared before him in the form of a pure, beautiful crystal floating just insider his perceptible vision. Everything beyond that point was a blur, but the diamond was crystal clear. His hand snatched out and grabbed the diamond, pulling it to her chest. The contact opened the magical gates and power flowed into him, overriding the curse once more, turning him to her and silencing the ghosts of the past...

The world began to take shape once more around her and the silver haired, pig tailed girl noticed the crowd of panicked and concerned family and friends around her, staring down at the sweat drenched martial artist. Nodoka was practically hysterical and it took Neptune to restrain the mother while Uranus kept the remaining fiancées from smothering Ranma outright. She regained her footing, but still had the dazed look in her eye when she met Pluto's gaze.

"Serenity… chan?" Pluto offered gently and Ranma rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to make the railroad spike that was pounding in her brain go away.

"Not yet, but workin' on it…" Ranma replied, shaking her head clear. There was no way she could deny the connection now. There was something behind the black veil and it was slowly leaking out. _Slowly_. Tidbits here, tidbits there. Some of them were fairly innocuous, like knowing people she shouldn't. Some of them weren't to be poked with a stick for amusement, like those associated with the crystal in her… Both hands. _Gone._ Nothing on the ground around her. Gone. She didn't panic, instead following the thread that was anchored tightly to her and found the crystal safe… within… now fully part of her being.

_Like it should have been all along._

The last thought frightened her as she stumbled again across yet another mental fragment that had no association with any other experience. Even as she sorted through the soup of mental chaos, Akane voiced the question that was on everybody's mind--

"Ranma? Are you Okay..? Are you hurt?"

"Naw," She took a deep breath and lied. "Same ol' same ol."

Apparently some missive in the truth had been detected, and the fiancées' expressions formed a collective frown. Their frowns only deepened as the blond Sailor Moon found the mentally battered martial artist and spoke her own piece in a trembling voice.

"Are… are you alright… M.. Mother?"

* * *

**Author's Notes;**  
Yes, I'm still working on my other stuff. See my ffnet hompage for details. Stop bugging me about it or I'll chop off your nipples and feed them to Trimatter's ferrets. Other than that, I love building a militeristic Silver Millenium Empire. The angle we're working here is that Ranma's current personality is not too far off from Serenity's aggressive one, regardless of how she may have changed (read: mellowed) toward the end of her dynasty. 

**Mother?** Yep, that's the way it is. it was pretty obvious from the first part that I could go one of two ways with this fic. Obviously, I chose the slightly more screwed up way. For all those who don't like Onna-Ranma fics, feel free to read Kunoification. Nyeh.

**Matchups**; None planned at the moment. This can, of course, change at a moment's notice. Sorry, DT... Not Mousse :p

**Fukufics;** Just what the hell is a fukufic? Any SM-Ranma xover that has Ranma wearing a fuku in any capacity, willing or unwilling. Ranma does not need to remain a girl for the classifcation to apply. I only supply this tidbit of information as it's been asked more than once. I normally produce these in association with the insane people at www.fukufics (dotcom).

Same special thanks as the people in part one :p


	3. Chapter 3

**Heir to the Empire**  
_By Ozzallos_  
A Fukufics (dotcom) Production

**Part Three**

**"N**OOOOO! _Let me go!_ I'll roll over every single pathetic planet in that pissant little corner of space they call an empire!"

The Princess of Pluto jockeyed for position, holding her best friend in life back as the moon cat advisors looked on in terror. Their Queen glowed black, her eyes nothing but spotlights of pure, undistilled fury. The platoon of Alpha Guard standing watch in the secure chamber was at full alert and their armor mounted communications arrays chattered with emergency traffic. Outside, another dull thud sounded, remnants of the high explosive warfare echoing throughout the room.

"Mikahal, bring me The Key. _NOW_!" The monarch raged, tears streaking down her face. A sharply dressed officer hesitated a moment under her glare then folded, lifting the rectangular box shackled to his arm.

"Mikahal, _don't_ bring her The Key." Pluto countermanded, still holding the trembling woman back. The officer paused with indecision, looking back and forth between the two women.

"Dammit, Puu! They killed him!" She screeched, sobbing. "The spinless Zann fucks _assassinated_ him! They'll suffer! They'll ALL _suffer!_" the Queen lurched forward in an attempt to bypass Setsuna and collect the rectangular attaché case, which was immediately blocked by her friend's full body restraint.

"Senny, NO!" She hollered, but the attempt continued. The last thing in the world any of them needed at this point was for the Queen of the Empire to get her hands on was "The Key", a device that held the launch sequences to every last one of the Crown's strategic intergalactic arsenal. This cocktail of total annihilation, included, among other weapons of mass destruction, the infamous XA-505. Whereas the Z90s were fleet born, mid range tactical singularity weapons, the 505 was designed for system to system bombardment, independent of a host vessel.

It was also informally dubbed 'The Nova Bomb' for good reason.

Pluto blocked another hand that snaked past her, groping for the officer and decided that this wasn't going to work at all. She half turned, keeping the raging Queen out of reach. "Everybody, outside!" The feline advisors, Crown tactical advisor and several military chiefs of staff blinked. The Queens elite guard acted as if they hadn't heard the order. _"I SAID CLEAR THE ROOM!"_

Had the order come from anybody else, it would have been ignored entirely. As it was Setsuna Meiou was the Princess of Pluto, chief architect of the Silver Millennium after the Queen and her best friend. She didn't have an official rank, nor did she need one. Her authority was beyond question and as such, the room emptied. Even the heavily armored Alpha Guard gave only the slightest pause before abandoning their posts to set up an external perimeter.

"Get back here! I'm going to torch every last one of the lizards!" She continued to rage, pausing only for a breath before turning on the green haired Princess. "Dammit Puu! Don't do this to me! I want them all---"

_SmaaCK!_

The hand crossed her cheek and the Queen of the largest star empire known to man fell silent, momentarily dazed. Pluto held the stunned woman's attention with her glowing red eyes. _"That's enough, Senny!"_

"But… But they killed him, Puu…" The slap seemed to have sapped a large chunk of Queen Serenity's venom, leaving behind a receptacle of despair and loss. "I loved him and they… they…"

Pluto simply held the most powerful woman in known space as she lapsed into sobs. The event had been nothing less than devastating for her, as a simple ground breaking ceremony turned into all out chaos. It was a well planned assassination, Setsuna noted as an afterthought. An attempt on the Queen's life was likely to fail. After all, you just didn't get past five layers of air-ground security _and_ her elite guard. Even if you managed to do that, you were then faced with the formidable task of bringing down the Queen herself. Short of landing an entire moon on the woman, there was just no way that was going to happen.

But an attempt on her fiancée, however…

It was a highly coordinated event that sent three hyper velocity shots in from distances ranging between four and eight kilometers. The first one was plucked out of the air by an orbiting gunship, its launcher promptly zeroed and destroyed via guided missile salvo. The second got closer, but a Sergeant of the Queens 8th Alpha saw the blip on his heads up display and reacted with reflexes only cats or demons had any right possessing, taking the missile with his own body. He was already in line for a posthumous Order of the Crescent Heart. The third and final warhead had no gunship to interdict it, no heroic marine to throw himself in front of the mach five projectile. It wasn't even a direct hit, but it was enough. Shrapnel went everywhere, and the love of Serenity's life went down with thirty-eight other innocent bystanders. Worse still, a reptilian body equipped with a Hyper Velocity Field Launcher and reloads were found at each launch site, thus explaining her Monarchs desire to wipe every last Zann from the face of the galaxy with star bursting weaponry.

"We've got to wait for the intelligence to come in, Serenity-chan." Pluto advised softly to the still weeping queen. "We can't just open Hell's gates on first impressions."

"But… They…"

"No, we _can't_." Pluto countered in the same soft tone. "Hell, their ambassador is totally denying involvement. We have to get more information, end of story."

Serenity pulled herself from Setsuna's shoulder and looked and stared with swollen eyes. "If he had been yours, you would want the same…"

"If he had been mine, you would be putting me in my place just like I'm doing now." Setsuna replied gently. She held the Queens gaze for a moment before the woman turned away. Pluto knew of her friend's legendary resilience. You didn't get to be the ruler of a galactic empire without knowing the time and place for emotion, and she demonstrated it now with a deep breath, wiping the tears across her sleeve. Setsuna watched the transformation from distraught lover to galactic monarch take place in that small space of time.

"Alright." She paused, collecting her final bits of sanity. "Get the advisors and joint chiefs back in here. If it's the Zann, they roast. If it's not…"

Setsuna nodded. "Fair enough, your Highness." She stepped to the armored door, allowing the Crown's staff entry back into the compartment. They gathered around the queen, unsure of her current state. Fortunately, she solved that problem for them.

Commander Adon, status." She ordered in a no-nonsense tone, one leached of any and all emotion.

The Queen's Eighth Alpha Guard stepped forward in his bulky field plate power armor, snapping into a crisp half bow. The soldier literally looked like a miniature humanoid tank, dwarfing his monarch easily. "We've swept the area. A fourth position was found and eliminated, your Highness. There were… Anomalies."

Pluto stepped to her friend's side. "Anomalies?"

"Yes, M'Lady." He addressed Setsuna with the same formality as he had the queen. "Another Zann body was found, this one without weapons. In fact, the munitions were in a separate section of the building we secured."

"Meaning…?"

"We're running DNA right now, but I suspect we'll find it is still born replicant, your Highness." The trooper replied in the same, stone cold tone.

"A _clone?_" The white feline blurted off to the right and the Alpha Commander nodded.

"We suspect it was a backup attack site that we dropped on before they could set up shop." He continued. "Whoever was staging it is long gone, but left the place in a hurry."

"Chances that the Zann perpetrated this attack?" The Queen asked, her eyes flashing with the need for vengeance.

"If the DNA comes back, positive, I'd have to say low." The Commander replied. "Of course, my information is limited solely to the field, but it looks like a cover up to me. Attack, run and leave a few mangled Zann corpses behind to cover their tracks."

"Chances that the Zann would actually commit this atrocity, Luna? Artemis?" Pluto directed the question at the moon cat advisors in order to ascertain their current foreign relations with the neighboring empire.

"Small." Luna replied succinctly. "Give our knowledge of their race, they are far too logical to ignore the tactical disparity we possess over their empire."

"In short they know we could erase them from existence but refrain from doing so solely on our good will." Artemis elaborated. "This attempt seems rather… obvious given that fact."

The Queen frowned, and Setsuna knew why. There was no obvious target to direct her rage, and if it wasn't the Zann, then it could be… any number of factions, Setsuna admitted to herself truthfully. They had all made plenty of enemies on their way to the top. Even as she and the Queen silently considered the implications, one of her Defense Advisors, a shorter, bald man in an immaculate uniform cleared his throat. Serenity nodded at him.

"If I may, your Eminence…" The officer began hesitantly. "The Zann Emperium is… concerned with heightened alert of our forces along their boarders and have begun to move strategic assets to their initial strike positions. They also continue to categorically deny involvement in the incident."

Serenity sighed, her body finally feeling the aftereffects of adrenaline saturation with nothing or nobody to expend it on. "Alright. Pull them back until we have more definitive information. What hyper assets do we have in the area?"

Pluto mentally winced. She still wasn't letting go of the Zann possibility. The officer made a quick check of his data pad. "The Lassiter and Durandal."

The Queen nodded. "Keep them on station. I want first strike capability on them if it turns out they are responsible."

The Defense Advisor made the note. Both the Lassiter and Durandal were part of the Hydra class line of capital ships, capable of piercing the curtain of hyper space. This ability rendered them both invisible and untouchable to conventional normal space interaction, but at a price. Any hyper-capable vessel required massive amounts of power to operate, which in turn added exponential amounts of mass to their hulls, making them ill suited for normal space warfare. They simply couldn't maneuver, putting them at a sharp disadvantage versus normal ships of the line. What they _could_ do was mount large stores of strategic ordinance, and they would use that ability to drop into hyper-space for months at a time, emerging only to re-supply or unleash their deadly arsenal on an unsuspecting world or outpost.

With that in mind, Pluto stepped in to keep her Queen's thoughts from dwelling too long on the lizards. "Sweep every attack site. If it wasn't the Zann, we want to know who perpetrated this act. Quickly, people." _Because your Queen has an itchy trigger finger_, she added mentally.

The room cleared for the second time, leaving Pluto and the Queen alone once more. The air of authority drained away from Serenity, leaving a hollow shell. Somehow, she found a padded couch and fell into it. Setsuna joined her, pulling her friend into a comforting embrace. The sobbing began anew.

"Dammit, Puu… I loved him…."

* * *

"Is true Grandmother!"

The Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku Amazon tribe looked at her great grand daughter skeptically. Not that it wasn't an unbelievable tale… As described, the events that her purple haired charge and disgruntle compatriot described were indeed par for the course here in Nerima. Ranma locked as a girl? Sure, why not. A change in hair color? Big deal. Magical girls? Throw in a few demon hunters, cat girls and succumbi, and it might have actually been interesting. No, the discrepancy laid in the ancient Amazon artifact that was supposively the catalyst for these events, specifically, the fact that the Joketsuzoku had no such treasure in their possession.

The elder took a long stare into her grand daughter. She had felt the power being thrown around half the day, but again, this was Nerima. She hadn't thought it was Ranma's and even if it was, she couldn't go running every time the boy punted some challenger across the horizon. She had a business to run. Chasing the grandson around was Shampoo's job, anyway.

"So the magical girls arrived," She confirmed and both Shampoo and Mousse nodded. "Then what?"

"It was very odd." Shampoo considered. "The Meow-girl and my love talked- not fiancée talk -then the meatball girl came up and called her… Mother! Ranma passed out." Cologne blinked, and looked to the raven haired Amazon boy behind her, who nodded. This caused the Elder to blink. Ranma was many things… A mother was certainly not one of them. It was supremely laughable, in fact. Not a physical impossibility given the martial artist's unique condition, but she was sure there would be a snowman laughing its ass off in hell were it true.

"Obviously the girl is insane." The old woman concluded. "Anything else out of the ordinary?"

"The meow-girl called Ranma Serenity." Shampoo replied. "Even called her a queen." She watched as her words turned the Elder to ice.

_"What did you say?"_

"The red eyed girl called Ranma a queen." Shampoo clarified, and Cologne shook her head.

"No, before that."

Shampoo looked on her uncharacteristically still great grandmother carefully. "Serenity?" Cologne flinched and Shampoo became even more concerned.

_"Beware when Serenity comes nigh,  
She is the enemy on high;  
Demon of the moon,  
Her passage marks your death;  
It comes swift and soon."_

The Elder Amazon mumbled, causing both teens to stare at her with wide eyes. Never had they seen her so deathly serious. She had lived nearly three hundred years after all. There wasn't much to surprise the old bat and now she was nearly ashen gray.

"And I thought it was superstition…" She whispered, and turned to the younger Amazons. "I will need to confirm this omen for myself. The store is closed for tonight. We will investigate this at dawn's light tomorrow."

Preferably when the moon isn't out to give the demon its power, Cologne mentally groused, recalling the rest of the superstition. Sure it probably was just ancient Amazonian myth, but she hadn't lived to nearly three centuries without erring on the side of caution, and Lord only knew what was possible in this God forsaken suburb of Tokyo. With that thought firmly in mind, she retired to the Neko Han Ten basement to do some serious research.

* * *

Akane Tendo lifted the bucket from the bathroom sink with a certain satisfaction, normally a satisfaction reserved for a predator about to pounce on its prey. Last night had been… unsettling to say the least, and this was her therapy; filling one wash bucket full of icy cold water. Having Ranma beat up on her idol was more than irritating enough, but to watch women she actually used to respect bow at his feet? Then her idol had to go off and call Ranma her mother, demonstrating how poor her choice of magical girl idols actually was. Things went downhill from there. The Inner Senshi were herded home by Pluto after Ranma passed out while the three Outers refused to leave the silver pigtailed girl's side. Her fiancée had been escorted to the upstairs guestroom, where only Kasumi was allowed access.

What did all of this mean?

It meant that Ranma Saotome_, her fiancée_ had been up in the room alone with three attractive magical girls all night long and she was about to give him his customary wakeup call. The youngest Tendo avoided the third creaky step on her way up the stairs, ensuring that her approach was as stealthy as possible. She paused only momentarily at the guestroom door before throwing it open with a battle cry poised on her lips.

_SssPlitch!_

The battle cry never made it out as she found herself face to face with a crouched short haired blond, glaring murderously at her. She tried to move back and found that she couldn't. It probably had something to do with the glowing short sword sticking into her gut and out the back of her spine. Red droplets ran from the blade and the bucket fell from Akane Tendo's hands, unspent. Her eyes widened slightly and she herself slid off the blade, falling to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Dead potatoes.

Michiru recovered from her attack stance just behind the blond, looking over her shoulder. "Um, Haruka… Did you just kill one of the Queen's friends?"

The Princess of Uranus twitched as at the body in the doorway, slowly draining of blood. "It's not my fault! You saw how she surprised us!" She hissed and took a step back. "Dammit, the Queen's SO gonna kill me…" All three Outers took a look back at their Monarch who was still sleeping soundly. Michiru and Haruka looked from her, to the body then back to one another, coming to the same conclusion simutaneuosly.

It was another hour before Ranma Saotome woke up, and she was dismayed to find three magical girls still standing guard over her. "Uhhhg… God, my head feels like it's been kicked a few times…" She rubbed the scruff of silver hair. "Don't tell me you've been here all night…?"

"Rotating watch, you Highness." Neptune commented, glancing nervously over to her partner. Saturn kept a carefully neutral expression.

Ranma was feeling sufficiently drained not to even bother protesting the 'your highness' crap, let alone inquire how much of last night had been real or imagined. She was certainly hoping the blonde's "mother" comment was part of the latter. Heck, she was feeling so out of it as to skip this morning's practice. "Look, whatever. Gonna take a bath." She stepped out of the room and her escort followed. Ranma stopped short. "And ya ain't getting in with me." All three body guards nodded, taking up positions outside the door Ranma was opening. She gave them one last look and shook her head before entering.

The wash down went without incident until several dull thuds were heard outside the door. Ranma paused in her scrubbing and watched curiously as the door slammed open half way, and her father's frame attempted to gain entry. One disembodied arm had him in a headlock while two others had and arm and a leg respectively. "Dammit! The boy missed his practice lemmee--erk!"

"Erk" Signaled Genma Saotome catching sight of his suds covered son turned daughter, which in turn gave the groping hands the advantage, pulling him back out of the restroom. The door was left ajar, giving Ranma a clear impression of the violent beat down that followed. A minute later, Saturn stuck her head back in discreetly. "Our apologize for the disruption, your Highness." Before Ranma could reply, the head was gone, leaving Ranma to wonder. Not that she didn't appreciate the intervention. She couldn't count the number of days where she would've loved to have delegated her father's ass kicking to somebody else. The soaking was remarkably incident free aside from the random thud at the doorway. It allowed the martial artist the relative peace necessary to think through the fine, fine mess she had somehow gotten herself into.

First on the mental checklist was the bath itself, which she was talking in female form. Not surprising. The rock, which had been absorbed into her, was overriding the curse. Wouldn't be the first time either, so it was a relatively minor detail. The sliver hair… Now that was an oddity, but not majorly so, having been exposed to hair-type curses before. Still… Ranma untied the dragon whisker and stared into the tub mirror mounted in the corner. To say it was exotic was a serious understatement, she thought as she ran her hands through the silky mass of silver. Ok, weird, but not that big a deal. The memories… Those were by far more disturbing in nature. Very little was coherent at the moment, but there were moments of clarity, and they were frightening. They were visions of times, places and peoples she had never seen or known, like a guided tour of somebody else's life… Somebody that was like her, but not… Another disturbing fact was those life and times were entirely female from what she had been able to discern through the flashes, which would go a long way toward explaining why the body felt more at home than usual.

_Too_ at home.

She was a guy, dammit, and while she wanted to append a mental exclamation point to that statement as was custom, she just couldn't put the usual force of disgust behind it. _That _was a problem. The girl form was beginning to feel more comfortable; at least as comfortable as his male form, which she would have never believed to be possible. If she could have bared it, she would have just chucked the rock and taken the easy way out. That, however, was an impossibility. She still didn't know much about it, but she knew that it represented sacrifice… More sacrifice than she had ever seen in this lifetime. And it was her burden to somehow bear that sacrifice. It wasn't simply a concept; it was a matter of _honor_. All in all, it was one hellva vicious circle to be trapped in; one that bore entirely too much resemblance to her already complicated life.

Ranma lifted herself out of the tub and dried off, having mentally prepared herself as much as she could possibly do so before shit hit the fan as it inevitably did on a daily basis. Minutes after dressing in her usually red and black silks, she was out the door with her escort behind her, which brought up another interesting topic of conversation… How in the _world_ did she rate magical girl bodyguards? The smell wafting throughout the house quickly drew her away from that particular topic and she quickly found her way to the dining room, where everybody was already eating.

They promptly stopped on sight of her.

"OH MY!" Kasumi's eyes glittered. She halted serving a bruised Genma and stepped to Ranma's side, who almost took a step back on reflex. Such an energetic display from the eldest Tendo was quite unusual. A gentle hand quickly found the damp silver hair, which glistened spectacularly in the morning's rays pouring through the window. "It's… absolutely beautiful, Ranma!" Kasumi stood transfixed for a moment, before looking on the martial artist with wide eyes. "Do you think you could give _me_ silver magical girl hair?"

"Uh…" It was the only answer she could come up with before her brain finally caught up to her mouth. "Um, when I find out how _I_ got it, I'll let ya know Kas-chan."

This seemed to satisfy the awed sister for the moment, who promptly turned her full attention to serving Ranma instead of her father, which only served to brighten the martial artists mood further. She ignored the remaining stares and reflexively tied her hair back up into a pigtail before sitting down. Her hands paused before hitting the chopsticks, and she looked back up at her escorts. "You want somethin' to eat too?"

All three shook their heads. "Kasumi-chan was gracious enough to provide us with sustenance earlier, you Highness." Michiru replied and Ranma shrugged.

"Suit yourself." She started for the chopsticks once more, but paused once again to stare at the youngest Tendo who was pretty pale at the moment. "Uh, you okay 'Kane?"

Akane flashed a look up to the waiting Senshi and back at Ranma, producing something close to a weak smile. "Uh, just not hungry, that's all… yeah…" Another look up at the Senshi and she found her feet and began to leave. "Didn't sleep well…"

Ranma arched an eyebrow and looked from her, to the Senshi she was staring at. "Rez sickness is a bitch." Saturn shrugged. The two other Senshi flashed her annoyed looks. Ranma simply rolled her eyes. Akane and her magical girl idols…

"So, Saotome," The middle Tendo sister interrupted in the haughty tone that so many people loathed. "Does the carpet match the drapes?"

Soun Tendo practically choked on his tea while his best friend twitched rather obviously. Even Akane stared at her sister, unable to believe the question she had just forwarded. Had she been looking in Kasumi's direction, she might have thought it was a tad creepy that her oldest sister seemed to be awaiting the answer eagerly. Ranma's fingers hovered above the chopsticks and an annoyed expression crossed her face. It was the look of patience exhausted; the look of having been on the short end of the stick too many times. But there was more beyond that. It was the actual realization of those two concepts for perhaps the first time since her stay at the Tendos. Somehow they had moved from simple faceless events in her life to pinpoint scrutiny. She turned one of her colder looks on Nabiki who found her own breath caught up in the scrutiny.

"Yeah. It does. What of it?" Nabiki opened her mouth, but for once nothing came out. It was a stinging barb designed to embarrass the recipient, not be answered directly. "T'day's not the day, Nabs."

Surprisingly, Nabiki stayed silent for once. Whether it was Ranma's cold stare or those of the Senshi behind her acting as an extension of her displeasure was up for debate, but the results spoke for themselves. Unlike the Panda, Nabiki was far from stupid. Something had happened between Akane and the Ranma's magical girl escort, something that had sapped a large chunk of the girl's ever-present aggression, and it wasn't something she was looking to experience herself. Escort or no, some things never changed, however.

"Boy! I demand you change back at once!" Genma growled. "You're turning entirely too gack!"

Now the word 'gack' normally wasn't a staple part of Genma Saotome's vocabulary, but today was a notable exception to the rule as the smallest of the Outers brought the edge of her Silence Glaive down in a flash to lightly rest on the father's throat.

"_You_ were already warned."

Genma affected a weak smile and moved the exotic pole arm off his throat slowly with a single finger, while Soun restrained the shiver that vibrated through his soul on seeing the deadly seriousness of the small, black-haired girl. "Eh heh heheh eh heh…."

None of this stopped Nodoka from speaking out, being the one person in the room besides Kasumi with an all but assured 'get out of violence free card'. "Exactly how long do you plan on staying in that unmanly form, Son?"

Had she have asked that question yesterday, the silver haired martial artist wouldn't have had an answer. After a day of reflection, chaos and all around mind-bending, Ranma had an one. It was as vague as the memories floating around inside her skull at the moment, but it was more than she had before.

"Long as it takes, Mom." She answered matter-of-factly, causing the mother to frown. "It's a matter of honor."

"But it's a matter of honor for you to marry--"

Nodoka's objection was quickly parried. "This matter of honor precedes the engagement."

"You were engaged to marry a Tendo girl at two years old." The chestnut haired matriarch stated flatly.

"Exactly." Ranma replied in the same tone. The two starred at one another for the next minute until Nabiki broke the stalemate.

"You do realize that makes no sense, right Saotome?"

Ranma shrugged, jabbing a thumb back to her escorts. "I got three magical girl bodyguards, silver hair, a bunch of memories that I shouldn't have, one girl calling me Queen, another Serenity and yet another Mom." She shook her head slowly, rubbing her temples. "You makin' sense of all that yet, Nabs?"

Nabiki shut up with nothing to say for the second time in less than an hour and Ranma simply stood up. "I need time to think. Anybody needs me, I'll be in the dojo."

* * *

Sailor Uranus stared on in amazement at the silver blur that progressed through a kata that eclipsed her best by several magnitudes. Saturn watched in neutral silence while Neptune was similarly awed. Their Queen was absolutely amazing. None of the three had complete memories of their Silver Millennium time, but Michiru didn't recall Queen Serenity as being the sort to engage in hand to hand combat. That fact didn't make her any less lethal; just that it was a sharp contrast to the woman they were now watching. Ranma blazed through another set before terminating it abruptly, freezing mid punch. She held the pose for a moment then relaxed, folding her arms and waited. The trio of Outer's began to wonder what had halted her practice and received an answer from the most unlikely of places.

"Very nice form, Son in-law." An old female voice crackled, causing the Senshi to spin around on target, finding a small, shriveled woman in green balanced evenly on a three foot staff that was as gnarled as she was. The Glaive flipped down and a glowing space sword slid from its sheath. Cologne frowned.

"Alpha, hold." Ranma commanded instinctively, and the girls froze, mirroring the well oiled military unit they used to represent. None of the three even questioned their instantaneous response to their Queen's order, much like Ranma herself didn't even think where the sudden authority was born from. "Whatcha want ya old…." Ranma's eyes gained a thoughtful glint. "Whattdya want, Cologne?"

The Amazon elder blinked. It was the first time in recent memory that the Saotome had actually used her given name. But that wasn't even her primary concern. _That_ was the three magical girls in fukus watching her warily and how they had reacted to Ranma's order like a cohesive military unit. Even more surprising was the fact that it was Ranma who had ordered them. The last time she had seen that level of control was in her own Amazons. Of course, outside of Ranma, their performance left a lot to be desired. Ranma had sensed her approach. The magic girls hadn't, regardless of the power they were now radiating. They were a huge threat, but not an insurmountable one by any means.

"Just stopping by to see if the rumors are true." The ancient woman hopped forward, causing the Outers to tense up. She studied the martial artist for a moment. Like the girls behind her, she was radiating power but in greater quantities and her hair shimmered silver. Cologne smiled. "No artifact of Amazonian origin caused this level of change."

"Only if yer in the habit of listening to Nabiki." Ranma rolled her eyes and the Elder scowled.

"I told that child not to take the Tendo's words at face value." The staff hopped, and clicked the floor, as if emphasizing her annoyance. It held only for a moment before her face turn mirthful. "And should I call you 'your Highness' now, too?"

"Yes."  
"Yes."  
"Yes."  
"_No_."

Ranma turned back to her bodyguard with an annoyed look. The girls themselves managed to avoid eye contact. She turned back to Cologne who couldn't help but to smile. "I ain't no queen."

"They seem to think so." Cologne pressed. "And what would be your queenly title be?"

Ranma's attention focused sharply on the Elder. She had more than enough combined experience with bother her and Nabiki's manipulations to know a probe for information when she heard it. "Whatdya want, Cologne?"

Not rising to the bait, the old woman thought as she stared at the transformed martial artist. It was amazing, she thought, how spectacularly things could backfire now, given their mutual past and how Shampoo's engagement had been handled. On top of that, she was herself directly responsible for the improvement of what may well be a potential adversary. Not just _an_ adversary, _The_ adversary. The adversary which had already eliminated Saffron, a rather large fish on the adversary food chain. If Ranma was _The One_, things could go bad in rapidly epic fashion depending on how she handled the next few moments.

"What do you know of the patron goddess of the Amazons, Ranma?" Ranma gave her a dry look which was promptly interpreted as knowing absolutely nothing. Cologne supplied the relevant information. "Thousands of years ago there was a great war, where upon the Goddess of the Earth fought to remove the yoke of slavery imposed by the Goddess of the Moon. The two battled, and the Goddess of the Earth used the last of her power to remove the Goddess of the Moon from existence."

Ranma cocked her head curiously, listening to the tale. It sounded vaguely familiar. Maybe she _had_ heard it before. The Senshi behind her, however, had another take on the story and instantly arrayed themselves around Ranma.

"Your Highness, please step back." Michiru whispered softly as the slight hiss of metal sliding out of its sheath accompanied her words. Uranus' space sword drank in open air and Hotaru's Silence Glaive came down in a guarded position across her Queen. Ranma glanced from one armed girl to the other with a questioning look. Cologne ignored them.

"From that day on, the Amazons paid homage to their Goddess, the one who freed them from the Moon's shadow." She continued and Haruka growled. "Our goddesses' name is Beryl."

The space sword came up into a strike position and Saturn's pole arm flipped through the air with a grace the girl had never before displayed. The Elder simply stood there as Ranma reacted instantly, deflecting Uranus' blade upward with one hand and stopping the whirling Glaive cold with the other.

"I said _HOLD!_"

The Senshi froze in their positions even as Cologne stood there impassively. Ranma knew better. She had seen her ki levels spike and knew had she not intervened, things would get messy for the magical girls, especially if their past performance was any indication. Fortunately, the magical girls obeyed her command without question, though they weren't happy by the looks of it. Her gaze flicked over each of her bodyguards. "Wanna tell me what this is about?"

Hotaru chose her words carefully. "_You_ are the Goddess of the Moon, your Majesty."

Ranma blinked looking from his escort to Cologne, who simply stood balanced on her cane, staring. Well, _that_ certainly put things in perspective, she thought as she put two and two together. "So you're saying that I'm your evil moon goddess?"

"Indeed," Cologne nodded, and frowned. "Serenity."

Ranma flinched with the name. "I ain't enslaved nobody and I don't know why everybody keeps callin' me that."

Cologne sighed and Ranma felt her power slacken. "It does seem unlikely, son in-law, but I have not lived to this age by ignoring even the most impossible seeming events." She paused, staring at the young girl. "Nor do I detect that level of evil within you, though your power has jumped exponentially." Unsaid was the fact that she would not be looking forward to a battle with the girl at this point either. That power combined with Ranma's innate skill… She'd more than likely need a short platoon of Amazon elite in addition to herself to bring the martial artist down now.

"So whatdya have in mind? Ranma inquired and the Elder stroked a long white strand of hair at her tiny shoulders.

"I do not know, Son in-law, but others will not react positively to this news of your new association with our ancient nemesis." She elaborated cautiously and Ranma felt an icy pit develop in her stomach. Amazons that didn't react positively always seemed to fall into the polar opposite, reacting homicidally.

"I will keep you informed son in-law." _We owe you that much for Saffron_, she thought even as she hopped from the dojo.

* * *

Razor scythe claws flashed in and a lithe Amazon warrior went low, narrowly avoiding having her head taken off by the obsidian scimitars. Cologne rolled left, leaving behind wisps of purple hair that hadn't cleared the strike in time. Another claw came in and she brought the tip of her shuang tou qiang up just in time to deflect the claws in a shower of white sparks. The moment afforded her an excellent view of the pink scaled beast she was facing, too good she noted as it pushed down along the length of her weapon with its body mass. The eighteen year old resisted the pressure momentarily before rolling back completely in order to plant a foot into the monster's chest and push it skyward. Snapping jaws remained airborne only for a moment before crashing into the bamboo tree line behind the young lady, who promptly recovered into a fighting stance.

The natural entanglement allowed the young Amazon to take stock of the situation, which she quickly rated as decent, all things considered. Of course, those 'things' just happened to be several mud-caked lacerations, blood soaked combat silks and one lethal demonic beast approximately two times her size and ten times her mass. The demon, which could be loosely termed as female- if one were to use such descriptive loosely -snapped another thick shoot of bamboo in half and stumbled back into the clearing. It was still reorienting itself, and Cologne took the opportunity to rip a piece of silk from her pant leg, tying up a bleeding slash down her left arm. She gave the makeshift bandage a tight tug and winced with the pain before pulling her double bladed spear out of the earth and flipping it around, brining it to bear on the beast once more. One of monstrosity's eyes was already gone; a victim to that same spearpoint, but the remaining one quickly found the bothersome Amazon and snarled.

Maybe 'decent' wasn't the word after all, Cologne amended silently and braced for the inevitable charge.

The charge came and the Amazon girl gave it two lightning jabs with the spear point before sliding left like a matador courting her bull. The beast stumbled once again and its new wounds leaked a dark mist. That just made it mad, and the demon's spiked tail snapped at her as it went by, nearly taking off her leg. Cologne hopped over the tail, giving her enough altitude to bring the spear in an overhead arc and down into the thing's back. The blade point ran through the scaled dorsal armor, through several vital organs and out its chest. The Amazon warrior put everything she had into leverage, and pushed down on the shaft, causing the blade to eviscerate the beast from sternum to skull while magical plumes of energy accompanied the maneuver. It stood for a moment longer despite the damage, and Cologne was whipping the spear back around to an offensive guard when the gouts of streaming life force halted. The beast fell to the earth a second later.

The young woman stabbed the spear into the ground and she leaned into it panting while the monster began to evaporate at her feet. A resonate humming filled the air and she turned a weary head to the circle of monolithic stones she had been fighting around. The warding stone at the center came to life, glowing with indecipherable symbology. She smiled. The Rite of Ascension was hers now. She had slain the guardian and now all that remained was to take its essence to the stone and call upon their goddess. Cologne reached into the smoldering mist of the demonic remains and pulled a pink crystal forth. She stared into the primitively cut facets and pulled the spear out of the ground.

It was time.

A few short steps took her inside the ring of stone and power washed over her. This was definitely the domain of the goddess, she thought, and stepped confidently up to the warding stone and placed her hand on it. The same glow that pulsed around the stone now enveloped her, and she prepared to speak the words of ascension. From there, The Earth Goddess would determine her worth and either accept her ascension or… Cologne didn't worry about the 'or'. Her line had always been a strong one. Her mother had ascended as had her grandmother. Now the honor would undoubtedly be hers. She took a deep breath, and--

"Cologne-chan! Cologne-chan!"

The purple haired Amazon whirled around to find a small girl, no more than eight clear the tree-line, her short crop of light green hair bouncing eagerly as she ran closer. "You did it, Cologne-chan!"

The warrior's eyes widened. "Lint! What are you doing here!" The girl's pace slowed, but her enthusiasm was by no means diminished.

"Watching you!" The girl bubbled. "You were SO amazing, Cologne-chan!"

"You shouldn't even be here!" Cologne hiss back, temporarily halting the girl's advance into the ritual ground and stone wards. "You could have gotten hurt!"

"But I had to watch…" The girl pouted, and the Amazon warrior found it hard to keep her temper toward the child. Hard, but not impossible.

"This is the Rite of Ascension," She bit back. "NOT a place for little girls, do you understand!"

Lint frowned some more. "But I just wanted…"

"I know." Some of Colognes anger leaked away. "But you can't stay. Go."

"But…"

"NOW."

"Okay." The child turned partially, then bolted toward her. "But not without a hug!"

Alert screamed through Cologne's brain in that instant as the child closed on the ring of stones she was standing within. No! She can't cross the line! She's not old enough! If she does…! Lint sprinted over the line before her thoughts could translate into action, and the circle of stone, previously dead grey, began to power up, pulsing with energy. Nononono… Cologne though, horror filtering through her conscious. Goddess, no!

"GET AWAY!" She screamed as the child ran up to her, stopping upon seeing the fear stricken face. "Run! NOW! You aren't ready!"

The girls face was writ with incomprehension… Until the ground began to rumble. "Cologne-chan?"

"You foolish child!" The purple haired warrior shrieked. "Now it will test _you! RUN!_"

Instead of heeding her frantic command, the child stayed rooted to the spot she was standing as the earth parted behind her, revealing another demon all too similar to the one Cologne just fought. She cursed and stepped around Lint, bringing the shuang tou qiang back to the front. The purple haired Amazon warrior shook her head and readied herself as the new demon crawled from the earthen rubble of its entrance, noting that the situation had just turned to absolute suck. Lint herself was a massive combat liability, while she was nowhere near one-hundred percent after dispatching the first monster. Damn, damn, DAMN.

"If we survive this, Lint, I promise to tan your hide so bad you won't be sitting for a month." Cologne growled and the monster pulled up to its full height, focusing in on the little girl behind her. Lint shrank against the center stone, not sure who to fear more at the moment.

"Stay behind me, _no matter what."_

She didn't see the small girl's nod, nor did she care. Her entire focus was on the infernal being before her as it finally perceived her as an obstacle. She knew what was running through its limited intellect as easily as she could read its eyes…

_Obstacle is for killing._

The fresh youma charged and Cologne barely cleared its path before razor claws came lashing in, skittering off her spear with bright flashes of lightening. Lint scampered behind her and the Warrior let a grim smile crept across her face as she rotated the great spear around, intercepting strike after strike. This was her grandmother's own spear and her mother before. Both had wielded it against the very opponent that now tried to force her guard, and the smile grew with feral intensity. This weapon in her family's hand was responsible for slaying no less than three of the beasts, ascending two of her line to godhood. Despite her condition, Cologne had never lost a fight yet and she was determined to bring another down and claim her place on high.

A pink tail sliced in and it managed to slice into her shoulder before her delayed reactions caught the penetration, deflecting the spike with the spear shaft and opening the demon's guard to counterattack. She stepped into the flaying tail and brought the spearhead down halfway into it, chopping the lethal appendage into a stump before the monster reacted by swatting her away into a stone with a hard crunch. Stars danced across her vision as her lungs grabbed for breath that suddenly wasn't there. She gasped and blinked the stars away, only to find the obsidian scythes inbound for her head. Cologne ducked quickly and the claws racks across the stone ward, leaving four precisely etched grooves in its wake.

The Amazon responded in kind, slashing the spear across beast's scaled breasts and bleeding it of magical energy with the gash. The other claw came down, but Cologne was already gone, rolling left and punching the spear into its ribcage before breaking contact. True to her word, Lint was on her like glue, never leaving her back and the relative safety it provided. The young woman was panting hard now and nearly every part of her combat silks were stained with dark blood. The beast wasn't faring much better, having sustained a slash to the chest, a punctured ribcage and hacked off tail, all of it leaking life force like a sieve.

For all the damage it had taken, Cologne was the best of her generation for a reason and she wasn't a fool. The demon had more power and stamina, while she was just as, if not more wounded. Her own reserves were running dangerously low and the Amazon instinctively knew that a protracted battle was a suicidal proposition for her. No. She never lost. She wasn't about to now. The monster found her once more and Cologne twirled the shuang tou qiang through a complex arc, burying its point into the earth before her and sheared it left in a trail of dust. Since bleeding it to death was no longer an option, she only had one choice-- A last stand. The best Amazon of her generation pulled every ounce of ki that remained in her weary body to the forefront and waited for the last charge.

_BRAAaaaWW!_

The monster tensed and bolted forward in a salivating mass of fangs and claws. Cologne brought the spear up and aimed. She would only get one shot at this. The beast leapt skyward and her spear-point tracked it through the arc.

Now.

_"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!"_

The spear blurred into near invisibility as it the beast fell into, hitting the demon at nearly three-hundred strikes per second. Another half second later and Cologne's strength failed her. Her body buckled as the massive strain of the technique sent her to the ground, spear flying across the clearing and into a nearby stone with a sharp 'twang!'. Her body may have failed her, but it was enough. Pieces of beast fell around her, smoldering in magical ruin. Body parts flopped to the ground and a sharp_ ting!_ cut through the sizzle of magical flesh decaying. Her vision, though blurred, easily picked out the pink jem that dropped before her.

She stared at it, laying limp for another minute before summoning the willpower to prop herself up to pull the stone into her grasp. Lint helped the young woman to her feet, using the spear as a crutch once more.

Two! She had defeated two of the infernal guardians! Godhood was surely hers now! Cologne hobbled past the ring of stones once more with girl as support, finding the central warding stone. What she saw- or didn't see, rather -crushed her spirit. It was no longer glowing.

"NO!" The warrior tripped forward, pressing her hands to the pillar, one pink jem in each hand. She closed her eyes, and drew a breath. "Goddess, I beseech thee! I sacrifice the guardian's blood and my own to join you at your side! Take my eternal soul into your hands!"

Silence.

_"Take my eternal soul into your hands!"_

The moment drug on, and a single tear fell to the alter. Cologne knew. She had missed her chance. Taken too long. Perhaps it was a test. A test she had _failed_. An impotent fist pounded against the rock. Yes, that was it. Her goddess had given her a dilemma… Take her hand in trust or distrust her divine will concerning Lint. She had distrusted and the Goddess of the Earth had withdrawn her favor. It couldn't be… Cologne brought herself upright, staring down at the stone while doubt continued to creep through her mindset. Was her faith so small? Of course her goddess would not leave the child to her own devices against the beast. No, it was a test and she failed. _Dammit…_

"Cologne-chan?" Lint tugged at the teen's silks. "Are you okay?"

Cologne took a deep breath. She had missed her chance to sit at Beryl's side, but perhaps that was not her destiny. Perhaps her destiny was here on Earth to strengthen her sisters… A ray of hope pierced the Amazon's depression leaded fog as she stared down at the two crystals in her hand. Not all were accepted to ascend and while she may have failed this test, but she would not fail another. The two crystals were honors in and of themselves, and would all but cement her standing within the tribe.

Yes… maybe- _just maybe_ -she would be okay.

* * *

Usagi Tsukino stared at the book on the table in front of her and flipped another page without actually processing the information contained therein. Around her, the Inners were keeping close watch on her movements, and were worried. She had been like this most of the day and didn't show any signs of pulling out of the dazed slump she had sunk into.

"Sa-chan?" Ami poked her friend's shoulder, slightly shifting the dead weight before her. "Anybody home?"

"She's my mom…" the cobalt blue head of hair almost missed her friends whisper, her gaze never moving from the pages. "I've got _two_ moms…"

"And one of them kicked your butt." Minako snorted, earning leaded stares from the rest of the Inners. The smirk died away. "Well she _did_."

"Senny-- I mean _Queen_ _Serenity_ obviously hasn't regained all her memories yet." Setsuna commented, trying her own hand at breaking the princess's depression with a dose of curiosity. "At least she wasn't serious."

"What do you mean _she wasn't serious?_" Makato stared. "She handed us our butts!"

"That's just it." The Princess of Pluto replied. "There's absolutely no way she even cracked a fraction of her potential yesterday." She paused, and a look of recollection clouded her face. "A lot more physical than I remember, though."

"Are you absolutely certain?" Usagi leveled her blue eyes on the Guardian of Time.

"Ami?"

It wasn't even a question and the Senshi of Mercury flipped out the clam-shelled Mercury link at Pluto's command. "DNA was screwed up all across the board, of course, but the power signature was an exact match with the archives I have access to. Add that to the fact that the Ginzuishou is in nearly perfect alignment with her life force- accurate to I don't even want to count how many decimal places -I'd have to say…"

"Yes." Setsuna finished off and Ami simply shrugged. "She knew things. Impossible things. Things nobody but myself should know." The green haired Senshi stroked her long flowing tresses. "Hell, she even knew Haruka's last name."

"Anybody could have known that." Rei countered, if only for the sake of playing devil's advocate.

"Not her given name from the Silver Millenium." Setsuna shook her head. "None of you can even tell me what _your_ real last names were, let alone some redhead from God knows where."

"Then why doesn't she know me?" The hurt in her voice was transmitted crystal clear and Setsuna's hand fell on the blonde's shoulder with a sympathetic look on her face. The level of concern she conveyed shocked the hell out of the Inners.

"Probably because we've been best friends for damn near forever, Princess." Pluto replied softly. "It makes sense if it's coming back chronologically. Even then, she barely made the association."

Usagi stared at Pluto a moment longer and let loose a weary sigh. "So what do we do now?"

"We wait." Moon blinked. That wasn't exactly the answer she was hoping to hear and her track record concerning patience was well known. Setsuna elaborated with a slight smile. "I instructed the Outers to escort her here once things were less hectic at her place."

"The Queen is coming here?" Ami started with wide eyes.

Setsuna nodded. "And get Luna and Artemis. The more familiar faces we have around here, the better."

* * *

"Pigtailed Goddess! A word with you!"

Ranma Saotome groaned and her escort turned to find a young man in a hakama running down the street at a brisk pace. They tensed and prepared to power up from their civilian idenities when Ranma stopped them on sensing the power build up. "Don't bother. It's just that idiot Kuno."

Michiru arched an eyebrow. "But if he is a bothersome wretch, shouldn't we dispose of him?"

"It'd be a tragic waste of power." Ranma stated dryly. That, and the last thing she needed was to have magical girls suddenly appear at her side instead of the ordinary girls who had managed to con her into going with them. In truth, it was a welcome diversion from the drama currently stewing around the dojo, even if she was more than likely heading into another helping of it. "We'll see what the idiot wants before I let you have a crack at him."

Even as Haruka smiled evilly at the approaching boy, Ranma herself frowned. Same Kuno, same divorced from reality look, but something was different. Wait. His katana, specifically the fact that it was an honest-to-God blade, not the wooden bokken he usually sported. Oh this was going to get plenty interesting, she was sure of it. If he still wanted the rock…

"Ah! Here you are!" Kuno started with satisfaction, and the untransformed outers stepped around their queen protectively. "I was worried that my information had been in error!"

"Information?"

"Indeed," Tatewake nodded, eyeing Ranma's silver hair. "I have come to confirm certain rumors."

"Rumors?" The martial artist began to get a sinking pit in her stomach. Rumors were what were the bane of her existence as of late.

"Is it true that you are the empress of an ancient and noble empire?" The upper classman cocked his head, considering her carefully.

"Yes."  
"Yes."  
"Yes."  
_"No!"_

Ranma glared at her magical girl escort, who were fortunate enough to be preoccupied by Kuno to avoid the burning look of annoyance. Kuno himself nodded, as if the preceding was a given.

"Of course, I should not have doubted my noble retainer." He continued, and Ranma immediately placed the retainer in question as Sasuke. When he wasn't tripping over his own shadow, he could be downright sneaky, and Ranma could easily see where he'd have missed him in last night's charade. Ranma sighed, wishing the idiot would say something that would give her the perfect excuse to punt him over the horizon. Maybe she would just nudge the process along a little bit.

"Ok, yeah, fine." She rolled her eyes. "I'm the magical-girl queen of an empire spanning three hundred and five worlds, one hundred thousand light years and nearly five hundred and eighty trillion citizens. So what of it?"

Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru simply stared at the girl before their attention was drawn away by the Kuno, who inhaled sharply.

"So it is true!" Kuno dropped to one knee and with Ranma's stomach plunged with it. This was going to be _bad_. Tatewake untied the scabbard from his side and held the hilt out to the silver haired pigtailed girl. "On behalf of the house of Kuno, I pledge my blade and my life to your cause, Empress!"

Ranma twitched, staring down at the upper-classman. "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

"Nay, your Highness." Kuno looked up from his position and Ranma couldn't believe what she was seeing. Instead of the vacant, insane glitter in Tatewaki's eyes, she found something else… Oh, the insane glitter was still there, but the vacancy was _gone_. Gears were turning behind those eyes. "Please accept Kuno family blade as a token of our loyalty."

"_Our_ loyalty?"

"Truly." He nodded. "My sister and I have discussed the matter at length and agree that this is the path of true honor."

He pushed the ordinate katana into her hand, and she couldn't help but to admire the craftsmanship of the scabbard, inlayed with ivory with dancing tigers dancing up the edge in gold trim. He pulled the silver blade halfway from its sheath and balanced it in her hand. While she wasn't an expert on forging per se, Ranma's martial art's training included blade proficiency and she could tell this was a formidable one. There was no way this was the usual bribe for a date. She slid the katana back into the scabbard with a sharp click. Ranma looked at the Kendoist again as he stared at her feet, leaving her at a total lose for words.

"Umm.. Tell ya what…" She began, choosing her next words as she possibly could. "Keep your katana. I, um, shall call upon it when your services are needed."

Tatewaki of House Kuno retrieved the blade with a determined look, fastening it back to his side. "Of course, your Highness! The House of Kuno and its resources shall henceforth be at your disposal." He rose and snapped into bow. "Please excuse me, your Eminance. Preperations must be made."

Ranma stared at the boy for a good minute before realizing that Kuno was actually requesting permission to depart. "Uh, yeah. Of course." With that, Tatewaki was gone, leaving one martial artist and three thoroughly confused magical girls in his wake. Then his words caught up with her stunned personage.

"Waitaminute… _Preperations?"_

_

* * *

_

**Author's Notes**  
This story is getting longer by the hour. I originally couldn't envision it past three parts, but now I'm _easily_ going to be filling five here. The Amazon arc that was originally planned is taking a much darker turn than was originally intended, as I was evolving them only as a kick around convenience for Ranma, not a story in themselves. As it is, it will be pivotal in Ranma's development. Hope you're having as much fun as I am :D

**Shuang Tou Qiang;** A Chinese double bladed spear.

**Hydra Class & Hyperspace;** Simply put, these are the submarines of the Silver Millennium space combat. Instead of having hyperspace as a fast from of travel, I'm writing it as a dimensional curtain in which one side cannot interact with the other. Hyperspace vessels can penetrate this dimensional curtain, separating them from conventional detection and attack.

**XA-505**; The ICBMs of the Silver Millennium. Unlike the Z90, they are designed for system to system star warfare independent of a host vessel. These weapons destroy stars by penetrating their surface and destabilizing the nuclear reaction therein, creating conditions favorable to an uncontrolled nova event.

**Special thanks** to all of Fukufics (dotcom); Especially Yarrow, DCG and Trimatter.

**Bonus!** The original _Heir to the Empire_ - This story wasn't the first incarnation of HttE. 01101000011101000111010001110000001110100010111100101111011101110111011101110111001011100111001001100001011010110110100001100001011011000010111001100011011011110110110100101111011011110111101001111010011000010110110001101100011011110111001100101111010010000110010101101001011100100110001001100101011101000110000100101110011010000111010001101101


	4. Chapter 4

**Heir to the Empire**  
_By Ozzallos_  
A Fukufics (dotcom) Production

**Part 4

* * *

**

_**"T**he Enemy lives?"_

Cologne frowned into the crystal ball. "That is uncertain at this point." She clarified for the elder at the other end of the magical connection. A casual observer would have sworn she was talking to her own distorted image, as the face therein was easily as wrinkled and gnarled as her own. "But her name has come up under… unusual circumstances."

The crystal ball sat silent for a moment, its curved face contemplating. "Such a name does not come up in casual conversation. You will investigate further?"

The Amazon elder fought to keep the scorn off her face. Just who did the woman take her for? Some unblooded neophyte? "Of course. There will be ample opportunity to observe events play out."

The crystal-borne visage frowned. "We cannot afford to allow events to _merely_ play out. If the enemy has been reborn, then we must act quickly. A council will be assembled."

"I would advise prudence in this matter." Cologne shook her head. "It involves the Saotome child."

"And as such, requires urgent attention." The crackled voice countered. "If the boy and The Enemy are one in the same, we can ill afford to wait."

"We can ill afford to rush headlong into this." Cologne replied, aggravation creeping into her voice. "You do not poke the slayer of Saffron with a stick lightly."

"We both know the boy had help, nor was Saffron a god." The crystal image retorted testily. "Regardless, I will inform the council of your… _hesitance_ in this matter. Good day."

Cologne clutched at her ever-present staff, stifling her anger as the image faded out. That stuck-up woman had _no_ idea of the mess she was walking into. That, and she sensed a coup de tat brewing downwind. The Elder glared into the now empty crystal ball, where only her distorted reflection stared back. Obviously she had been away too long and the political landscape was changing. Under normal circumstances, she would simply go home and give the woman a pasting, but she could hardly afford to leave Nerima at such a crucial juncture.

The old woman sighed, covering the crystal with a silken blue sheet. It was by no means an easy choice. Ride the storm out her in Japan and allow her opposition to fester back in China or go home and kick some political buttox. She shook her head. much as she would have liked the latter option, her place was here at the moment.

* * *

Cologne sat at her table as she sorted through a number of scrolls by the light streaming through her doorway. Let's see, she mulled over the parchments carefully. Pressure point scrolls, magical scrolls, herbal scrolls… She studied each paper briefly before rolling it back up into it's tie and gently placing it into the correct pile. While she generally loathed spring cleaning, she didn't particularly mind this part. All of the old tomes and tribal techniques were like family to her after two hundred and fifty years of life. The tribe's elder was about to finger another roll when her light was blocked, casting shadows across the room. Cologne frowned, turning to find the obstruction. 

She blinked at the figure in the doorway as her eyes adjusted to the backlit body and smiled. "Ah, grand daughter, how are you this day?"

The purple haired twenty-some inclined her head slightly, taking the greeting as an invitation. "Very good, grand mother."

Cologne set her current pile of scrolls aside carefully and replaced them with a setting of two tea cups and steaming pitcher. The woman sat down and her great grandmother smiled, pouring out tea. "So how is my great grandchild behaving?"

"Still waking us up at all hours of the night." The Amazon admitted, faintly amused. "Gillete is a good male, though. He has a knack for rocking her to sleep." She paused, shaking her head. "And the diapers. I don't know what I'd do without him."

"Indeed." Cologne chuckled. "Better him than you." The pair sipped their tea in silence for another few minutes before the Elder broke it. "But you did not come to talk about my grand daughter or sip tea with an old lady, Starch."

"Not exactly," The purple haired woman fingered her strait hair nervously. "I… I have come to ask permission."

The Elder frowned and silence reigned. After a few more drawn out moments, the Cologne sighed. "I guess it is that time, isn't it?"

"You did promise." Starch pressed quietly. "If I won the tribes tournament…"

"Yes, yes…" Cologne grumbled, remembering the promise clearly. "If you won the tournament, I would concede that you were ready for the Rite." She looked the woman in front of her up and down. "And so you are. It's just..."

If there was one thing Starch knew about her grandmother, it was that she loathed losing yet another to the rite. Friends were bad enough. Family was another matter entirely. But her grandmother was one of the most faithful and loyal she knew. The fact that she had not ascended was no dishonor in the slightest, having saved a child and felling two of the guardians in the process. Beryl simply had another path for the Elder, and now it was time for her to find her own.

She took the tiny old woman into her arms. "I know grandmother. But it is through your honor and skill that I may defeat the guardian."

Cologne nodded. The words were the correct ones, but they just sounded so hollow today. "You… you will do just fine, grand daughter. What of Shampoo?"

"I would ask that you look after her…" Starch smiled gently. "While I trust Gillete implicitly, he's only a male."

Cologne nodded, understanding. "Of course. I'll walk you to the edge of the village." Both women started for the door when Cologne halted. "Just a second." In the space of seconds, she had hopped from her grand daughter's side to the the back room. Soon, she reappeared with a decorated Shuang Tou Qiang in hand. "This weapon has been in our family for several generations, Starch." She pogo'd up to the woman and pushed it into her stunned hands. "It has been used my grandmother, mother, myself and your mother. Nearly all of our blood line has ascended with its assistance, save myself." Cologne pogo'd out of her residence and her grand daughter followed, eyes drinking in the double-bladed Chinese spear. Two pink gems were imbedded along the flat of the spear point, sun refracting off its edge in a pink-hued rainbow of light.

"That weapon alone has slain five of the guardians." Cologne smiled grimly as grand mother and daughter made their way to the village edge. "I have no doubt a sixth will fall by your hand."

The pair shared another moment of prolonged silence before Starch nodded and turned down the path to face her destiny.

It was another two days before Cologne learned what that destiny was as the Elder supervised the training of a small group of eleven year old girls. "Again." She stated from her staff-bound perch and the girls rushed the wooden dummies before them, striking a group of red dots painted up and down the logs in sequence. Cologne repeated the command, and more fingers struck the wooden target, some of them bloody. The Elder paid that no mind. She was in a bad mood.

"Elder Cologne?" The grey haired woman looked over her shoulder to find one of her lieutenants wearing a carefully neutral face. In her hands was a long, something wrapped in silk. She stared at the woman and her item carefully. It wasn't like the blue haired woman to be so pensive.

"What is it, Douche?"

The Warrior handed her the silk wrapped length. "This was found at The Stones."

Cologne paled. There was no question as to what stones she was referring to, and the Elder unwrapped the silk carefully. Within was the spear she had only days ago given to her grand daughter. "No body?"

"No, Elder. She has Ascended."

Cologne nodded. "Watch the young ones here. I'll be in my hut." As soon as she found her home and was able to latch the door, the tears began.

They wouldn't stop for a long while.

* * *

Ranma stopped at the gates of the temple before her, looking at the structure curiously. She glanced back at her magical girl escort. "You guys live in a shrine?" 

Michiru shook her head. "Of course not, your Highness. It is, however, a convenient place for meetings."

"One that doesn't raise too many questions." Haruka added, Hotaru nodding in kind.

Made sense, Ranma thought as the four passed through the gate to the interior courtyard. Can't have enemies going after your families, right? Ranma paused on that thought. Speaking of which, how many times has that exact same thing happened to_ me?_ If it wasn't Akane-snatchers, it was always somebody- or something -else. The pigtailed girl shrugged mentally and followed the frail looking girl into the shrine.

Hard to believe she could destroy a planet.

Another mental pause. Now just how in the hell do I know that? Ranma wondered. Memories of course, the same memories these girls had baited her with into coming along. It was all trouble, she thought. Nothing but trouble. No good could come of being surrounded by magical girls, of that she was certain. Sooner or later, they would get the genius idea that she was a guy and he was fiancée material. All the more reason to stay girl-type for just a bit longer. Ranma eyed the slight girl once more as they led her into the shrine's inner sanctum. She can destroy a world, huh?

The four walked through another hallway and to a comfortable room where four girls were happily chatting away while one sat in silence and the other watched the rest passively. Chit-chat immediately stopped as Ranma and her escorts and the red-eyed woman smiled.

"Thank you for coming, Serenity-chan." Setsuna walked over, lightly hugging the silver-haired martial artist, who was surprised that it not only felt so natural, but that the woman somehow managed to bypass her instinctive flinch reflex concerning female contact. Everything about the green haired woman just clicked with her at some level. It was so easy that it worried Ranma to no end.

The woman withdrew and Ranma's nodded, eyes flicked across the room's occupants. "Not much of a choice if I wanna find out what the heck is goin' on." Her eyes narrowed at the blonde odango who stared at her with wide eyes. "You done trying to take the rock?"

The blonde in question looked down at her feet, avoiding eye contact. "I'm sorry… mom."

Ranma's cheek twitched and the Princess of Pluto frowned. The girl wasn't claiming to be Serenity, but she certainly had all of her mannerisms. That particular one normally indicated her friend was about to ream somebody up one side and down the other, and Setsuna moved to intervene before she could get a full head of stream going.

"How much do you remember, Serenity-chan?"

She flashed an edgy look at the green haired woman, but somehow found it impossible to bite her head off for not calling her Ranma. Anybody else, however… "Look, I don't know what you're talking about… I'm just seeing things is all. Probably just got knocked by my fiancées one to many times."

"Fiancées?" Ami leaned forward, while Haruka and Michiru's attention focused suddenly and for obvious reasons. They had no idea their queen was like _that_.

Ranma nodded, still standing warily despite the seat that had been pulled out for her. "I think Nab's last count was at seventeen."

"SEVENTEEN!" Minako blurted. If it hadn't been her, it would have been Rei, followed shortly thereafter by Makato. Even Hotaru couldn't help but to stare. "You've got to be kidding me!"

A wry grin lapsed across Ranma's face. Telling people that always did make for an amusing reaction. "Nope. Thanks to my old man, mostly."

"Your father… engaged you to seventeen women?" Usagi wallowed in shock.

Ranma nodded. "Feh. That ain't nothing compared to what he can do if he puts his mind to it."

"Excuse me." Setsuna mentioned, then promptly disappeared into thin air. Ranma was left staring at the space she had just vacated.

"Neat trick."

"Teleport." Haruka supplied. "Though where she was off to in such--"

"THAT SON OF A BITCH!" The green haired woman suddenly popped back into existence, glowing with power and fury. She balled her fists and stared at Ranma. "He did _THAT_ to you?"

The martial artists blinked. What the hell? "Um, which 'that' are you refereeing too? God knows I can't keep count."

"Pluto?" Usagi stepped forward tentatively. The woman looked like she was about ready to murder somebody.

"He sold you for a bowl of rice and two pickles!" Setsuna fumed and Ranma blinked.

"You _know_ that?" She asked, disbelieving that the woman could have simply pulled such a detail out of thin air, let alone be so upset by it. Nobody else ever was. Hell, Akane never got _that_ upset. Maybe 'that sucked', but never the outright fury Setsuna was displaying now. "Look, it ain't no big--"

"Big deal!" Her rage continued. "Why he even tossed you in--" Setsuna stopped short and a mask of seriousness fell across her face. "Oh _shit._"

"Oh shit?" Ami blinked. Setsuna didn't cuss. Period. Of course, she hardly ever displayed an emotion beyond that of cool mystery, so today was just a red letter day.

"Whatever you do, your Majesty, do not look in the corner." Pluto ordered quietly. Something told Ranma she should trust the woman and she simply arched an eyebrow curiously.

"What's in the corner?" Rei asked, turning around.

Makato shrugged. "Just the cats as far as I can tell."

Ranma's eyes widened. "C… c… cats?"

"Girls, SHUT UP." Setsuna hissed and the winced at her tone, but fell silent. She turned to Ranma in a softer tone. "Look at me and me only." Ranma's eyes found hers. "There are no cats in this room."

"But Luna and Artemis are--"

Setsuna's head snapped around on Minako. "If you don't SHUT THE HELL UP, I'm going to hang you by your toes somewhere in the Australian outback, _do you understand?_" Minako whimpered an affirmative, and Pluto turned back to Ranma one more time. The girl's eyes were pooling with terror.

"As I was saying," she continued, softly. "There are no cats in this room. There are Moon Court Advisors. They would like to say 'hi'."

"A..Advisors?" Ranma managed through her fear soaked brain.

"Advisors." Setsuna soothed. "They're sitting in the corner. Now do cats talk, Ranma?"

"N…No."

She never took her eyes off Ranma's. "Luna, Artemis… Say hello to the Queen."

"It is good to see you again, your Majesty."

"We've missed you, your Highness."

Ranma blinked. No, those definitely weren't cats. A male and female voice. Setsuna watched her neck muscles twitch and spoke. "Don't look at them yet. Do you remember Luna and Artemis?" Ranma shook her head. The names were familiar, but like so many of the fragments, the associations hung just out of reach. "Then let me tell you who they are. They are you're your foreign and domestic political advisors. You couldn't ask for a better pair of… souls."

"Then why can't I look at 'em?" Ranma mouthed nervously. Sure, the initial shock at the mention of cats had worn away, but there was still the other shoe waiting to drop. Everybody else looked at her intently, then to the corner and back to her.

"Because, well…" Setsuna paused, waffling. There was no real way to sugar coat it. "Because they only_ look_ like cats."

Ranma began to twitch again. "O… Only?"

Crap, crap, crap… Setsuna mentally chaste herself. This wasn't working. She was going to need time and the Queen's memories to break that psychosis. Now wasn't the time for immersion therapy, and her friend's fears wouldn't care if they were talking cats or not. She didn't want to banish them, but-- She watched Ranma's eyes snap over into the corner, finding two innocent moon cats.

"C… c… c… " Ranma gasped as her worst fears were uncaged in her mind. She took a step back, jarring a small table and knocking over a lamp. "C… c… c…"

"Setsuna, is there something we should…?" Artemis asked, clearly taken back by their Queen's reaction.

Ranma took another step back, cheek twitching. "N..Nuthin's wrong!"

A deep frown crossed the Princess of Pluto's face. Tiny flames danced in her eyes. "The Queen's biological father in this day and age subjected her to torture."

Haruka snarled. "That fat-ass tortured the Queen!"

Setsuna nodded grimly. She now had everybody's attention. "I won't detail the exact form of that torture, but needless to say it involved…"

"_Cats._" Ranma hissed, trying to still her trembling. It was all she could do from not bolting outright, through the fact that these particular cats were forming coherent sentences did help prevent a full blown anxiety attack. Arms enclosed her in an embrace and Ranma looked up to find Setsuna's eyes glowing with concern. Somehow her touch managed to siphon away a fraction of the fear and trembling. She could stand in the presence of talk cats… She could… She could…

"It's okay, Senny," She stroke the pigtailed girls hair and the trembling lessened another fraction. "I'll ask them to leave if you--"

"I think I may have a solution, Miss Pluto." Luna sat up from the cushion both moon cats had been sitting on. A pink aura engulfed the black cat. A few second later it peaked, washing the room out in pink before fading away, leaving a girl in its wake. The shivering all but died away in Setsuna's hands and Ranma blinked. The cat just turned into a wavy black haired girl who was wearing a yellow and black fuku. She looked down at Artemis, who nodded. A soft white aura engulfed the male moon cat, and he promptly shifted into the form of a white haired teen in a white business suit and black tie. The trembling stopped completely and Ranma stared at the pair curiously.

Artemis bowed low and Luna kneeled at her feet. "We apologize if our natural forms caused you any anxiety, your Eminence."

Ranma blinked, her fear all but gone. "Huh. Whattdya know… More transforming cats."

Luna tilted his head. "More?"

The silver haired girl pulled away from Setsuna with a weak smile. "Uh, thanks… For that." The Guardian of Time favored her with an understanding look. The fact that the older woman was affecting her so was downright unnerving.

Ranma turned to her captive audience. Dammit, she knew these people! But who the hell were they? And the girl calling her mom! Somehow she knew that the transforming cats shouldn't have come as a surprise either. She studied the nearly all girl audience once more and sighed.

"All right. I'll tell you my story if you all tell me yours."

* * *

"Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding." Serenity frowned as she stepped into the room that held half a few dozen easily recognizable faces, as well as a liberal dose pink and blue party streamers. Glossy ribbons were spread throughout the room and smiles were plastered on everybody's face, including Setsuna, the other Senshi, her Advisors, and assorted friends and well-wishers. She found her best friend's eyes were bubbling with mirth. "Tell me this wasn't your idea." 

"Oh no, your Highness," Setsuna looked aghast at the suggestion and Serenity couldn't help but to roll her eyes. "I do believe that honor falls to your advisors."

The Queen turned to find both cats on a chair beaming wide smiles. "I should have known. And what do you have to say for yourselves?"

Luna's smile widened, if at all possible. "It was Michiru's fault. She coordinated everything." Their monarch's eyes swiveled onto the Princess of Neptune, who was affecting a look of absolute innocence.

"Not my fault, your Highness." She protested. "Makato bought the party favors."

Makato's face scrunched in mock irritation. "I'm pretty sure all the blame falls onto Minako. She chose the theme."

"Huh?" She blinked, as if totally clueless of the events around her. Serenity would have bought the act too if she hadn't hand picked the woman to take the mantle of Venus herself. "I only heard about the party from 'Ruka-chan."

"Wild accusations and unsubstantiated testimony, your Highness." The Senshi of Uranus waved the blame aside. "Besides, I'm quite sure the chief architect of this heinous crime is Hotaru." Everybody looked at Hotaru, nodding.

"Definitely Hotaru."  
"Ru-chan, how could you?"  
"Don't you know the Queen doesn't like surprise parties?"  
"A horrible thing to do."  
"What do you have to say for yourself, Saturn?"

A moment of silence followed the interrogation, and Hotaru's neutral expression gave way to a smile. "It was Setsuna's fault."

Serenity simply stood there, shaking her head. "Mutinous lot, all of you." She cast a baleful glare across the entire smiling room. "I'll have you all strung up tomorrow. Where's the cake?"

"Can't hang people on an empty stomach, can you?" Setsuna stepped up to her best friend's side with a wicked glint in her eyes. "At least your priorities are straight."

The pair walked through the colorfully decorated room, amid the well-wishers and congratulations. The party guest ensured they gave their queen a wide berth to accommodate her recently acquired roundness. The monarch's eyes flicked to the wrapped presents with bows. "A little late for a baby-shower isn't it?"

"It wouldn't be if you didn't keep yourself so busy, Serenity-chan." Setsuna sniffed haughtily. "Besides, didn't La Phoite tell you to take it easy this far along?"

"Feh." Serenity snorted and picked up a random present, shaking it. "Shows you what the Her Majesty's Royal Physician knows."

An older officer with a graying mane of hair leaned in, his eyes twinkling. "You break it, you buy it."

Serenity's random shaking of her presents stopped immediately, and she looked at the thing man with a perturbed look. "Don't you have some small empire to crush, Andrew?"

"I thought that was your job, your Highness?" He grinned and leaned in. "So is it a boy or a girl?"

"Oh, pah_-lease._" Serenity rolled her eyes. "If you don't know by now, I'm obviously paying you too much."

"True, true." The Joint Chief of Staff nodded as if her statement were a given. "Sure, I could have assigned a special op to the task and raided the Omnet for the information, but I thought some creativity was in order for this delicate mission."

"You asked La Phoite."

"I asked La Phoite."

"That man has entirely too loose a tongue." The Queen shook her head.

"Cut it out?" Pluto inquired dryly and Serenity nodded.

"Yes, make a note of it." The trio stared seriously at one another for a moment before busting into laughter.

"Say, can I get that done for Jupiter?" Minako ducked in, having snatched an hors d'oeuvre from a nearby tray. "She keeps complaining that I'm guy crazy. I'm sick of it."

Setsuna arched an eyebrow. "You _are._"

The Princess of Venus blinked. "Oh, that's right…" and stalked off after one of the party attendants.

Chief of Staff Andrew Kay stared after the Senshi. "Are you sure she's a Champion of the Realm?"

Serenity shrugged. "Last I checked." She looked at the mingling party goers. "So you're telling me you people had nothing better to do than ambush Her Expectedness today?"

"Ran out of small empires to crush." The Chief nodded.

"Kids are all here." Pluto mentioned, motioning to the other Senshi.

"And instead you decide to torment me with a baby shower." The Queen frowned.

"Yeah."

"Pretty much."

Haruka and Michiru wandered over to the trio hand in hand and smiles on their faces. Michiru put a delicate figure on the Queen's belly, producing a light kick. "Whoops, felt that one. So what are going to name her, your Roundness?"

"I swear, somebody is going to burn for this." The Queen's words were at odds with the smile on her face. "Not sure yet."

"Better get cracking on that, your Highness." Haruka pointed out. "You're what, eight months now?"

"As if the little girl will let me forget." Serenity sighed, rubbing her silk covered belly. Hotaru offered her a small china plate adorned with a large piece of cake. The Queen's attention immediately focused and she smiled at the soft spoken girl. "You know what would go great with--" Rei stepped up and scooped some chocolate ice cream onto the plate. "Ah, that's the stuff. Hotaru and Rei get raises."

Makato blinked. "What about me!"

"You," She pointed at the Senshi of Jupiter with a cake laden fork. "Get the satisfaction of obediently serving your Queen."

"I'd rather have had the money." Makato grumbled, but broke into a grin moments later.

The shower began in earnest, and Serenity was more than happy to put her nose to the task of unwrapping presents, most of which were, in some way shape or form, for the baby to be. If the gifts were any indication, she promised to be a damn cute little girl. The party wore on and one by one, the guests excused themselves until the only people that were left were Setsuna and Serenity, surrounded by empty glasses and colorfully ripped wrapping paper. The Princess of Pluto tipped her own beverage back and finished it off.

"For somebody who doesn't like parties…"

"Yeah, yeah." Serenity waved the accusation aside as she rested on a chair. She certainly didn't have the social endurance she had eight months ago. "Mainly it's the next day's gossip I hate. I'll probably have slept with you if you listen to The Exquirer headlines tomorrow."

"I say orgy with the Senshi." Setsuna challenged, holding out her hand. Setsuna took it and shook.

"I'll take that bet."

Both women laughed at one another for another few minutes until Serenity grew silent with a slightly pained expression on her face. Her best friend waited patiently.

"I was thinking about naming her Usagi."

Pluto nodded gravely. That was _his_ name. His _family_ name. "I think it's… appropriate. And cute."

The last comment managed to cute through the somber nature of their discussion. "Cute?"

Setsuna smiled. "Your daughter will be the rabbit in the moon. Very appropriate for a Moon Princess."

* * *

Ranma sat on the padded chair, clutching her head. She took a deep breath and looked into those blue eyes. It looks as if I'm looking into a mirror, the martial artist noted, then chopped that line of thought off abruptly. No! I'm not that girl's mom! 

"I know… It's hard to accept." Setsuna let her hand rest on the silver haired girl's shoulder gently. "Every one of these girls are still coping with the fact they are the reincarnated guardians from a kingdom fourteen thousand years dust."

Ranma stared up incredulously at the green haired woman and her patience expired abruptly. "Do you even realize what you're saying! Okay, so they're the guardians of a dead empire. Fine! I have no trouble believing that! I meet stranger things on a daily basis! But you're saying I was pregnant! With HER!" Ranma shook her head violently. "No! Uh-uh! Didn't happen!"

Setsuna watched the girl deny everything, and marveled how her foreign frame so closely mimicked the behaviors of the friend she used to know. She knew Serenity's idiosyncrasies like the back of her hand and recognized one in particular playing across the girl's body language even as she fumed… It wasn't just a denial born from ignorance. It was a denial of not wanting to face the truth. After nearly a millennia of friendship with the woman, the Princess of Pluto didn't have a doubt…

"You remember Usagi, don't you?"

The anger instantly began to transform into something else and Setsuna watched fear pool in her monarch's eyes. "No… They're just visions… Hallucinations! I don't… I can't…"

"How do you know so much about me, Ranma?" She deliberately used her reincarnated name, hoping to prevent the total mental collapse that was waiting in the wind. "Look at the girls. You know them too. _Hallucinations don't do that_."

"B... but I'm a guy…" Her voice cracked, and only somebody with Setsuna's lifetime of experience could tell there was something more within those words. There was the tiniest hint of defeat. "I… I'm Ranma Saotome, ruler of the Silver Millenium--" Her eyes widened as the words slipped from her mouth involuntarily. "No! I didn't mean--!" Setsuna and the girls simply watched silently as the martial artist sorted herself out. "Dammit, this sucks." Usagi couldn't help but to chuckle and Ranma shot her a look. "What?"

"Just remembering how I was told by a cat that I was the Princess of the Silver Millennium for first time." She smiled warmly and the pig-tailed girl's irritation faded into a simple frown.

"What I want to know is how the Queen of the Silver Millennium was reincarnated a boy." Ami leaned forward, staring at Ranma and remembering yesterday's transformation.

"Yeah," Minako chimed in. "We came through it just fine."

"The Queen intervened on your behalf." Pluto emphasized the silver haired martial artist at her side. "_She_ had no such intervention. I imagine there's a huge difference between shot toward your destiny and drifting there, metaphysically speaking."

Michiru nodded. "In that case, it's a miracle she's even here at all."

"That was her, not me." Ranma retorted, though with considerably less edge than before. "I didn't get pregnant and I ain't no mom."

"But… You remember me?"

Ranma studied the blonde with a critical eye. Those blue orbs eyed her back and continued to unnerve her. "Yeah… I… _she_ remembers you."

"So how is she a girl?" Ami boggled, calculating variables. "I can see the coming back through an uncontrolled reincarnation event… But to stumble across a magical girl spring? The odds are… Staggering."

"Tell me about it…" Ranma grumbled, remembering the most pivotal day of her life quite clearly.

"The only thing I can figure is that magic attracts magic." Rei commented, familiar with the domain she was speaking on. "Maybe her inborn magic sought to correct the imbalance it saw in her gender." Ami eyed the shrine maiden skeptically and the Senshi shrugged. "Okay, so it's only a theory."

Setsuna watched her friend as theories were thrown back and forth as to her reincarnation and improbable existence, to which even she admitted were damn long odds. But at least she was accepting the memories, if not the identity, the Princess of Pluto thought. The rest would come, and all she had to do was worry about keeping her sane in the mean time. Being reborn the guardian of a long dead empire more or less as you were was one thing. Being completely reshaped in the process would tend to screw up one's perspective, Setsuna imagined.

She was just about to cut through the wild speculation when Ami's Mercury link did it for her with a couple of polite chirps. The cobalt blue-haired girl flipped it open and studied it with a frown.

"Youma attack, near the market district."

Ranma arched an eyebrow. "Just how do ya know that?"

"Well, we couldn't have Rei erect detection wards across the entire city," She explained, smiling at her own cleverness. "So I rigged the computer to scan police and military traffic for the words like 'monster' and 'demon'."

"Alright then, let's kick its ass!" Ranma smiled too, happy to finally be back on familiar ground; that being the strangeness whose ass she could kick, as oppose to the intangible sort she couldn't.

"I don't think…" Haruka started with a concerned look on her face

"You really shouldn't…" Michiru continued with a similarly pained look.

Hotaru simply shook her head. "The Queen shouldn't be involved in frontline warfare, your Eminence."

Ranma scowled and Setsuna couldn't help but to chuckle. "Look, I'm being told I'm the Queen of magical girls, the ruler of an empire and a mother. You better damn well bet I'm gonna pound on something."

* * *

Ranma watched from a rooftop overlooking the youma beatdown occurring on the street below. On her left was Setsuna Meiou, Princess of Pluto, while her ever-present Outer body guards had taken up positions around her. The silver haired martial artist watched the spectacle critically as the younger Inners danced around their pinkish grey opponent, lobbing magical attacks in a semi-coordinated assault. 

_"Moon Tiara Action!"_

Setsuna watched her Queen carefully and noted the frown that was developing. "They're really a lot better than they first appear, your Highness." She inserted, addressing what she knew were her friend's concerns directly. "We just haven't had a lot of time to concentrate on formal training."

_"Venus Love-Me Chain!"_

Ranma nodded, dismissing yet another 'your highness' comment from the only person that didn't outright grate against her. The ease at which she had grown used to Setsuna's company was frightening in itself, as if her presence were as expected as her own shadow. That, and she had accurately addressed her worries concerning the girls below. Two youma had already gone down under the Inner's magical fire, but the third was proving to be a nimble nuisance. The only thing that made sure it was nothing more than a nuisance was the number of magical girls attacking it simultaneously, ensuring that the creature couldn't press any one individual for any length of time. Still, it was fast and seemed to have enough intelligence to stay inside the myriad of ranged attacks that made up the bulk of the Senshi's arsenal.

_"Earth Shaker!"_

"So they've taken out this barrel woman, you say?" Ranma commented skeptically. Now why did that name in particular sound familiar? Regardless, the level of skill they were displaying was pretty mediocre.

"Beryl." Setsuna correct. "And several other opponents that would have otherwise destroyed the world as we know it." Ranma arched an eyebrow and the Senshi smiled. "Let's just say they tend to rise to the occasion."

Ranma simply nodded and watched another sloppily coordinated attack take place, accompanied by the call of magical attacks. "If you say so."

Setsuna smiled at her best friend's reservations. Her concerns were valid ones, at least for now. Every last one of the girls had been skilled fighters in the Silver Millennium, and once they recovered their full memories, would be once again. Still, she couldn't expect the Queen to remember that at the moment, could she? The girl herself watched the fight unfold and cocked her head curiously, as if noting something. "Senny?"

Ranma stared into the fray a moment longer before taking a step to the ledge. Sailor Uranus' eyes widened. "Your Highness?"

Pluto restrained the Senshi and Ranma dismissed her with a non-chalant wave. "Relax. My turn to take a crack at it."

Michiru mirrored her partners gaping as the silver pigtailed girl took the six story drop like she was wearing armor, only that she wasn't and should have been severely injured. Instead, they watched as she landed gracefully and walked over to the melee already in progress.

Sailor Moon was about ready to launch another tiara moon into the nimble demon when she caught the girl- her mother -out of the corner of her eye smiling coldly. She took a step back and moved to her side.

"Um, are you sure you should be out here?" Worry sparkled in the blonde's eyes and Ranma simply shrugged.

"I was bored." She stated and watched another go at the youma. "Call 'em back."

"Are you sure that's a wise--"

Ranma frowned. "Who's the Queen again?"

Sailor Moon twitched at the pointed remainder and Ranma's mental aspect took on a wide smile. If she was going to get all this crap heaped on her, no reason she couldn't have fun with it. Moon gave the teen that was supposively her mother another skeptical look before jumping back to the melee and recalling the Senshi around her.

"Hey, what gives?" Sailor Venus bristled at the order to withdraw, as did the other Senshi. They gathered around Moon expectantly, only to watch her point to a knuckle cracking Ranma. The silver haired girl's entire focus was on the youma.

"You mean _she's_ gonna take it on!" Mars blurted as the martial artist turned Queen of the Silver Millennium stepped toward the youma. "She'll--!"

"Probably kick some butt and take names." Ami inserted. "Don't forget _who_ she is." Usagi nodded with that statement, causing the remaining Senshi shut up and watch round two of the youma beat-down.

Ranma sized up the ugly pink beast with a smile. It was good to be back on familiar ground, even if that familiar ground consisted of demonic smack down. Not that there was really much of a difference. The line between Phoenix people, Amazon assassins, hybrid Musk and ugly pink beasties was getting pretty thin these days.

The demon paused with the change in players, casting a wary sidelong glance after the retreating Senshi, then to the diminutive girl who took their place. Its limited intellect simply couldn't comprehend why the enemy would sacrifice the tactical advantage in favor of… this. It looked the silver haired female over and was disgusted. Her life force would barely make for a good--

_PHoooMMP!_

A hot wind blasted across the youma's psyche as the girls power spiked abruptly, its potential translating into the visible spectrum in the form of soft white glow flowing around the woman. The waves of power crashed against the demons probe and it staggered back on reflex. Had it any choice in the matter, the pink scaled beast would have turned tail and ran for the hills. Hard. Unfortunately, there was programming to consider and that programming left only one option available to it.

_RWoooWL!_

Pinkish-black claws racked in and Ranma bobbed just out of reach, having clearly expected the attack. Wind ruffled the girl's silver bangs and another claw swiped at her with much the same results as the last. It clearly didn't have it's full attention on task, the martial artist realized quickly as she found its slitted eyes darting from her to the numerically superior Senshi across the street. Still worried about a second front, eh? Ranma thought with mild annoyance.

"Fight's here, asshole."

The silver haired girl stepped in between the youma's third and forth strike, landing a hard palm to the chest and blowing the demon fifteen feet into the street. The thing tumbled across the ground before regaing some semblance of balance, flipping upright with nothing worse than a few scrapes. The demon snarled and Ranma smiled. _That_ got its attention.

Fanged teeth snapped at her and the youma charged, totally disregarding its former magical girl opponents in favor of bringing the cocky little pigtailed girl down. There was a small portion in the primitive difference engine it called intellect that knew the chances of that actually happening were slim, but that just made her all the more a priority target. The segmented bone tail punched in first at high speed, rapidly followed by two claws that threatened to shred any flesh the spiked barb manage to miss. In Ranma's case, the lethal attacks perforated the air around the martial artist but failed to touch her. To the untrained eye, it looked like each attempt missed the Saotome by the narrowest margin, but looks were deceiving. The Youma was putting everything it had into offense, only to managing a hit ratio to rival a certain Akane Tendo's.

From the top of the building, Haruka Tenoh's mood was brightening considerably. Her first encounter with her would-be monarch ended with her ass getting handed to her so fast it made her head spin. Literally. It was a blow to her ego, especially considering the fact that she was probably the best martial artist of the entire group. But now she was watching her Queen engage a youma, unarmed, at knife range and at blinding speed.

Nope, she didn't feel bad anymore. _Not at all._

Setsuna was in much the same condition, only just managing to keep her mouth from hanging in the breeze. She was certain that the woman below her was Serenity. One hundred percent so. But this… It was almost frightening. She had never known her friend to be so… Physical. Not just physical, but her skills at hand to hand combat now seemed to rival her past ability to manipulate magic. She watched her best friend dodge attack after attack with frightening ease. It was simply…

"Sugoi…." Usagi whispered breathlessly as the person that was her mother effortlessly danced with the youma they had been trying to put away for the last ten minutes, and suddenly understood why she had been so confident in her ability to stand against it alone. It was a sentiment shared by the rest of the Senshi, who could do nothing but gwak at the display of martial arts prowess. Had there been another youma hiding in the bushes behind them, the magical girls would have been powerless to stop it.

Ranma was in high spirits now, as it was probably the best workout she had received in a while. Fun as it may have been, she was actually down here for more than a round of sparring. She had seen something from the rooftop and now it was time to put that something to the test. The pigtailed girl stepped out of the youma's attack arc momentarily and switched stances on the fly into one that favored Amazon-shu. She stepped back inside the monster's circle and made a big production of her attacks, delivering them in such a way that would have been impossible _not_ to read. She even delivered them at half her normal speed and the youma responded in kind, attempting a hasty defense as its prey pressed it back meter by meter down the street.

"Come on, ugly, I know you're in there somewhere…" Ranma growled and continued the purposely sloppy offense. Any halfway competent martial artist would have spotted the holes in her form and she frowned mentally as the demon failed to notice them. She slowed her attacks and loosened her form even further, bombarding it with technique after technique of Amazon origin in an attempt to elicit some response. Finally it came as her fist blazed in from below. A spark of inspiration jumped the gap somewhere in the youma's brain and it brought its claw down on instinct, cutting off the attack and deflecting it sidewise. Ranma smiled ferally as the demon moved to exploit the opening in the only way the form allowed, only find its scaled arm seized and jerked right, spinning it violently in preparation for the savage kick that was already inbound. What passed as the youma's ribcage collapsed violently and the demon was skidding across the concrete once more.

"Gotcha." Ranma smirked, relaxing her stance as the youma tumbled to a halt.

Rei blinked, shaking her head as the demon tried to gain its footing unsuccessfully. "You mean she was just _playing_ with it?"

"Your Mom's _so_ cool!" Sailor Jupiter blurted at Moon, causing a giant sweat drop to run down the side of the blonde's head.

Pluto, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn took the six story hop from their perch with the intention on joining their monarch, when the beast stirred once more, righting itself with a flip and charging Ranma suddenly. The girl's attention was turning back to the youma in an almost lazy manner when a rose floated in from out of nowhere and detonated in the creature's face, turning the immediate area around it into explosive sheet of fire and molten concrete. All eyes turned down the vector of the rose to find a young masked man clad in a black tuxedo and top hat.

"Fear not, fair maiden… For as long as there is justice in this world, I, Tuxedo Kamen will be there to defend the flowers of innocence such as yourself."

Sailor Moon instantly developed a starry eyed stare for the young man while the other Inners developed similarly glazed-over expressions. The outers simply rolled their eyes while Ranma had an entirely different reaction.

Her eye was twitching.

The last thing she needed in life was another goddamned Kuno, and it took every bit of effort _not_ to launch a low yield Moko Takabisha downrange into the tuxedoed interloper. Instead, she turned her attention to the blast zone where the smoke was clearing, only to find… Nothing. Ranma blinked, her eyes frantically searching the scorched crater for anything resembling the demon. It was gone, which left only two possibilities. Either the Tuxedo fool's rose had been sufficiently powerful to vap _her_ youma outright or… The twitch gained intensity.

**"YOU ASSHOLE!"**

"Uh, excuse me, miss?" Tuxedo Kamen blinked, having expected the young woman's praises to fill his ears at any moment. His surprise was rather understandable, however. Most victims of a youma attack were happy for his intervention on average. Across the street, the Senshi were jolted from their lust induced stupor, staring at their monarch as if she had grown a second head. She just called Kamen a…?

"You let the thing escape, dammit!" The pigtailed girl fumed, burning a hole into the man with her leaded glare. "I wasn't done with it!"

"Wasn't done…?" Tux shook his head, as if trying to make sense of the outlandish situation. Girls in her situation were normally worshipping the ground he walked on by now, not cursing his name. Sadly, he had absolutely no proper grasp of exactly what sort of situation this particular girl was entangled. Had he known, the masked defender of justice probably would have given the fight a wide berth.

Sailor Moon took a tentative step over to her rather irate mother. "You can't…! He's… That's…!"

Ranma barely registered the girl stumbling over her words until Sailor Pluto joined the pair, Outer body guards in tow. "He's an ally, your Highness." She supplied, gaining a skeptical look from Ranma. "He's also your daughter's fiancé."

The silver haired girl's head swiveled onto to Moon. "That pompus ass is your fiancée?" Moon's mouth fell open while the remaining Inners were aghast. "God, and I thought I had it bad. You're engaged to a Kuno."

In that time, Tuxedo Kamen joined the group, eyeing the new girl carefully. "Excuse me, I'm not sure I--"

Ranma's focus immediate snapped from the Senshi back to the source of her irritation. "Back off, rose-boy. I ain't too happy with you right now."

Sailor Moon visibly flinched at the insult and the Inners simply couldn't believe that somebody was verbally assaulting not only Usagi's future husband, but such a fine specimen of manhood. It was also all Setsuna could do not to collapse into a fit of insane laughter.

"I, ah, that is to say… but I just saved your--!" Kamen stumbled over his next words.

"You let my youma get away!" Ranma bit back sharply, then turned to her supposive daughter with an evil thought that made her smile. The smile wasn't a pleasant one. "You say you're engaged to this idiot?" Usagi nodded her head in slow shock. Something wasn't right here….

"Not anymore."

"WHAT!" The word came from every direction at once and the evil grin grew in intensity

"But you can't! He's… I'm…! MOM!" The blonde wailed plaintively. Tuxedo Kamen simply blinked with confusion

Ranma Saotome savored the chaos of the moment. If they were going to saddle her with this queen thing and the mother bit, she was damn well going to have fun with it. "Nope. No way am I letting my daughter marry a Kuno."

"Mom?" Tux was thoroughly confused as he studied the rude girl he now regretted saving. "Would somebody care to…"

Pluto stepped forward with a grin that mirrored her friend's eerily. She took a sidelong glance over at Ranma who met her eyes. The smile widened as a mutual understanding passed between them. "Tuxedo Mask, I would like you to meet Ranma Saotome-Serenity, reincarnated queen of the Silver Millenium. Moon's _mother._"

It took another minute for the masked man to digest the information, and another to comprehend the full ramifications. "She's… You… The Queen!"

"Oh, for shame! What ever did I do to be cursed with an ungrateful daughter of loose morals?" The smile vanished from Ranma's face with the overly dramatic scene and Setsuna couldn't help but to snicker now.

Usagi's face pitched a deep pink as her eyes widened, while Kamen gibbered wildly. Finally, a coherent thought formed in the odango-atama's brain. "But you can't do this!"

"Hush, child." Ranma admonished, pulling out the best Nodoka impression she could muster. "I'll only have my daughter engaged to a man among men, several if necessary."

The blush deepened and it took Kamen a moment to perceive the insult. "Man among… Wait! HEY! I _AM_ a man among men!"

Ranma arched an eyebrow, dropping all pretense. "And what kinda man chucks roses at his opponents?"

Tuxedo Kamen was speechless for a moment but recovered quickly. "Those are very POWERFUL roses, I'll have you know!"

The martial artist simply rolled her eyes, and turned her back on the Tuxedoed avenger. "Come on, Set-chan. We got an old mummy to visit."

* * *

Setsuna chuckled again as she, Ranma and the Outers made their way into the heart of Nerima. In reality, it was probably the most fun she had had in nearly two millennia. She looked down at her best friend and smiled. "You're not seriously going to dissolve their relationship, are you?" 

The martial artist snorted with amusement. "Nah, what do I care? I'm not exactly one to go talkin' anyway."

Setsuna nodded thoughtfully, remembering the redhead's life being played out before her in compressed time via the Gates. The smile disappeared and she mentally resolved once more to skin the hide of a certain Panda. But that could wait. "Even so, Tuxedo Kamen _is_ formidable. More so during the Silver Millennium."

"Ya keep saying that." Ranma commented as they rounded a corner and the Cat Café came into view down the street. "But none of 'em are exactly overflowin' with skill."

If the trailing Outers heard, they kept their opinions to themselves, regardless of how right or wrong she was. The Senshi of Time simply nodded. "True, but they lost a lot when you shot them forward." That gained Ranma's undivided attention. "Their memories are fragmented just as yours are. The only difference is that they've had a bit more time to adjust."

Ranma held her silence, and for a moment, could almost believe the green haired Senshi that was fast becoming her friend. Not only was it nice to have a sympathetic ear that _wasn't _trying to marry her at the same time, but one that seemed to know her and her problems so intimately. All that, and it was an eerily natural condition to be in. She paused and cursed herself for even thinking such a thing, though it was getting harder to deny the situation, just as it was getting harder to explain away the flashes of memories as being produced by a knock on the head.

Ranma sighed mentally. Some days it just really didn't pay to roll out of bed.

"If I may, your Highness…" Hotaru cut in politely, "Why are we going to see the disciple of Beryl?"

Ranma gave the frail looking girl a queer look, as that wasn't how she'd normally described the old ghoul. "Cuz of the youma."

Michiru's eyes widened. "She created the youma!"

"Nah." Ranma waved her off. "She may be a tough old ghoul, but she ain't gonna go around draining people's life force. No, that youma had elements of Amazon-shu imbedded in its combat style and she's the best person to ask about it."

"You're kidding." Haruka stated flatly and Ranma shook her head.

"Nope. Sloppy as hell, but it's there." She confirmed. "I purposely set it up and it responded to the form, alright."

"So you're saying it's Amazon?" Setsuna cocked her head, following her friend's logic. It also explained her irritation toward Usagi's fiancé quite handily.

"Kinda doubt it." Ranma replied. "They're homicidal fruitcakes at times, but using demons to do their dirty work ain't their style."

The group stepped up to the establishment and Ranma paused before pushing open the door, turning back to her entourage. "Don't care what she says about me, don't go pickin' fights. The prune is so far out of your league it ain't funny." She paused and considered the green haired Senshi. "Cept for Set-chan, maybe."

"Your confidence in my abilities is positively heartening." The Senshi deadpanned, causing both to grin at the mutually shared humor. The remaining three outers looked at one another, finding the normally barren Setsuna's display of emotion positively creepy. With that, they entered the restaurant which was bustling with lunchtime activity. That didn't stop a certain black haired Amazon male from noticing their presence.

"May I help--" Mousse stopped, adjusting his coke bottle thick glasses with a scowl. "Oh. It's_ you._"

"Yeah, just me," Ranma grunted to nobody in particular. "Good ol' queen of the Silver Millennium." Mousse's open salvo of hostility was promptly derailed by the enigmatic comment. "Old ghoul in?"

He leaned in closer to the martial artist as if to scrutinize her further. "You're not here to see Shampoo?"

"Not unless she aged a few hundred years and dried up into an--"

_ThwaWP!_

_"OW!"_

Ranma's sharp retort was cut off as a cane dipped from behind Haruka and Michiru, cracking the martial artist and would-be queen over the head painfully. Her four escorts spun around suddenly, finding the old ghoul in question standing on a table. "You should know better than to bad mouth your elders, son in-law."

Haruka forgot her Queen's warning and lunged, only to watch as the elder retracted the gnarled cane and push its tip into her torso. Only Ranma was able to make out the blur of the attack and watched as the tension melted from the dishwater blonde's body, sending her stumbling to the floor. The lunchtime crowd around them gasped and clapped enthusiastically at the performance. Cologne gave them a curt bow while Ranma simply shook her head, staring at Haruka's limp body.

"Told ya so."

Cologne looked from Ranma, down to the limp magical girl and back to Ranma. "It would appear that your magical girl escort is in need of some skill, son in-law."

"Tell me about it." Ranma sighed.

"But I'm assuming you didn't come by to enlist my aid in polishing their technique." Cologne smiled mischievously. "What brings you here today?"

"Youma."

The elder cocked her head in curiosity. "While my knowledge on the matter is extensive, I'm not sure what you're asking in particular."

"There was an attack in the Juuban ward today." Setsuna inserted. "While that isn't exactly unusual…"

"…The fact that it was using Amazon-shu was." Ranma finished naturally, causing the old woman to stare at the pair with an arched eyebrow. That exchange was far too natural for two people who had only just met. Regardless, the information was interesting.

"Are you certain?" She queried skeptically. "The Amazon do not traffic demons, son in-law. If anything, it sounds like the antics of _your_ school's master."

Ranma blinked. She was right. She would sooner suspect Happosai than the old ghoul here any day of the week. Haruka's pressure points wore off and Michiru helped the disgruntled bodyguard to her feet. "Ok, you got me there, but the ugly thing knew your moves. No doubt about it."

Cologne's eyes slitted as she concentrated on the dilemma. The Amazon's didn't use demons to do anything, period. How one would come across them was positively beyond her, but that didn't cause her to doubt the Saotome's words. If she said it knew Amazon-shu, then it knew Amazon-shu. "Perhaps you can describe it for me?"

"It stood six-eight, had a long tail with a spike grafted to the tip." The Senshi of Time explained. Normally Cologne would have ignored her in favor of Ranma's testimony, but the bond between the two was obvious. "Its exterior is primarily pink scaling, two arms topped off with three razor-sharp talons." Cologne froze with the new information as an ill wind blew the dust off an old memory. "The demons are invariably humanoid female in nature."

Ranma noticed the stillness and called the elder out on it. "You know something, dontcha Old Ghoul?"

"I…" Cologne paused, stroking a lock of her long white mane. "Do you have a picture of this beast?"

The Senshi of Time turned to Michiru, who pulled an intricately designed mirror from behind her back, and both Ranma and Cologne recognized the move as something akin to Mousse's hidden weapons technique. The woman held it out flat and closed her eyes. "Deep Aqua Mirror, show us the form of our queen's foe…"

"Which one?" Ranma whispered, and Setsuna nearly choked with laughter while Cologne couldn't help but to chuckle herself. Regardless, the mirror seemed to divine which foe from intent and cast a faint image of the pink youma above the mirror's surface. Any humor Cologne may have held died in that moment. She leveled a grave gaze onto Ranma, who stared back curiously as Michiru returned the mirror to safe storage.

"Come, son in-law. We have much to discuss."

* * *

**Author's notes:**  
_Ok, so I'm estimating six parts at the moment, but no guarantees. You all know how tBoT went. Mot much in the way of comments this time around. Still developing story and still thanking the crew at fukufics. The site is down at the moment, but that's life. I know I should update my own site as well, but I'm just lazy like that._

_It's my birthday today, so Part 4 here is my present to all yas. Enjoy. _

Я знаю я имеет больше чем немного русских читателей вне там, настолько здесь kricat-vne к вам. Спасибо за чтение и меня надеются вы имеет как много потеху по мере того как я!

_Of course, the above probably came out to translate into something like "Chickens! Purple underwear stoled Utah's carborator!"_


	5. Chapter 5

**Heir to the Empire**  
_By Ozzallos_  
A Fukufic (currnetlyofflinandbeingugradeddotcom) Production

**Part V **

**T**he Neko Han Ten was by any measure one of the more successful restaurants in the Nermian suburb of Tokyo, Japan. Not only did it sport fine Chinese cuisine, but more often than not was the site of some of the most incredible martial arts battles this side of the Pacific. It was also a bonefide tourist attraction for those wandering through the prefect, famous not only for the food, but beautiful waitress often found serving its patrons.

There was no doubt that the restaurant was a profitable venture, and today, that establishment was host to some of the most bizarre visitors it had seen since the opening nearly three years ago. Some would no doubt scoff at the very suggestion, as the Cat Café had seen everything from demons to phoenix people frequent its doorstep, and on any other day, they'd be correct in their assessment.

Today was _not_ that day.

The lunch rush had ended and now the only occupants were a great deal stranger than your average pork bun-headed assassins. First there was Cologne, the diminutive matriarch of the Joketsuzoku Chinese Amazonian tribe, cracking her third century of life. Beside her sat her great granddaughter Shampoo and fiancé-hopeful Mousse, the best Joketsuzoku martial artists of their generation. It only got stranger from there. Across from the establishment owner stood magical girl guardians Uranus and Neptune, otherwise known as the lovers Haruka Tenou and Michiru Kaiou. As if to top that, the Senshi of Saturn stood next to them in as her alter ego Hotaru Tomoe. _She_ could destroy entire worlds. Pushing the envelope of disbelief was Setsuna Meiou, the Princess of Pluto and Guardian of Time itself. Finally, there was Ranma Saotome. This in itself was decidedly _not_ strange. The Heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts was a frequent visitor of the restaurant, after all. If it wasn't getting conned into taking Shampoo out on a date or battling the aforementioned Amazonian elder for a cure, it was stopping by for free food… Only today he was a she and allegedly Serenity reincarnated, Queen of the Silver Millennium, Mother of Sailor Moon herself.

Needless to say, the Neko Han Ten was closed for the rest of the day.

"Demon not supposed to know Amazon wu-shu!" Shampoo blurted, earning a nod from her largely unwelcome, but ever-present companion Mousse.

"Of course not, child." Cologne waved the obvious aside. "The Joketsuzoku do not traffic in demons," She turned to her guest to drive the point home. "Nor do they train them, but if the son in-law says they know it…"

"It did."

Cologne considered the silver haired girl carefully. It was an outlandish possibility, but doubting the martial arts prodigy in front of her was even more outlandish. "…Then we must consider _where_ such training took place."

Michiru leaned forward from Ranma's side, her sea-green locks rippling with the motion. She eyed the elder suspiciously "And why, exactly, should we take the word of a disciple of Beryl? It wouldn't be the first time your 'goddess' has conspired against all that is good and just."

"As we know that yours looks to enslave humanity?" Cologne cast the Senshi a hardened look.

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Talkin' about me, remember?"

Cologne blinked. She was finding it incredibly easy to forget that the son in-law in front of her was potentially humanities greatest enemy. Not that it was hard. The Saotome just didn't possess the disposition to commit even a fraction of the crimes Amazonian legend held. The old woman sighed. It was nearly as ludicrous as a youma knowing Amazon wu-chu, but…

"Suffice to say you have only my word." She continued, and challenged flashed through the eyes of Ranma's entourage.

"Which…"

"…is good enough for me." Ranma cut Haruka's rebuke off at the source. Uranus made no attempt to disguise her displeasure. "So how do they know it, then?"

"There exists an even more disturbing question." Cologne shook her head. "Why does your youma share many traits with those of The Rite?"

"The Rite?" Hotaru queried and Cologne frowned. She wasn't looking forward to detailing such intimate knowledge to even Ranma, let alone the guardians of Serenity.

"The Rite is a test all Amazon females must take." She began, looking at Shampoo. "There is no set age, but once one is of sufficient skill, it is their duty to present themselves before Beryl as a measure of worth."

Ranma turned back to Setsuna. "Didn't you say Beryl was dead?"

"Toast." The Senshi of Pluto commented, earning a scowl from Cologne.

"You don't _kill_ a goddess." The matriarch bit back and Setsuna simply shrugged. "Regardless, it is a trial by combat in which a demon is summoned for the initiate to dispose of. Defeating it earns one the right to ascend to Beryl's side."

"Didn't seem to work out for you." Haruka pointed out with a malicious smile and Colognes gaze narrowed on the dishwater blonde sharply.

"_I _dispatched_ two _of them." She growled. "My place, however, is with the tribe."

"Sure you did." Haruka's smile widened, incensing the Elder further ...which wasn't a good idea in Ranma's opinion, but she had never been one to listen to good ideas either, and took pleasure in the fact that she wasn't the only one that took pleasure in goading the old bat.

"I have the demon crystals to back my words," Cologne retorted. "Where as you only have the wit of a rank amateur."

Haruka's face contorted with anger, but her climb to fury was abruptly cut off by Setsuna. "Demon crystals?" The Senshi cocked her head. "These wouldn't happen to be pink glowing crystals…?"

Cologne watched the green haired woman carefully. Next to Ranma, she was by far the most dangerous of the group. "Yes?"

"May I see them?"

The Amazon elder studied the Senshi's impassive mask a moment before turning to the purple haired girl at her side. "Shampoo, my spear." The teen nodded and disappeared into the back room, only to return a moment later with a large, double bladed spear in hand. She handed it to her great grand mother, who set aside her cane in favor of the weapon. "No less than five of our clan has ascended with the help of this weapon." She held it forward. "You may look, but _not_ touch."

Setsuna Meiou studied the ordinate weapon and the two pink crystals imbedded in the flat of the spearhead, one on each side. Icy dread began to seep into her as her vision traced the primitive glowing cut of the crystals.

"Do you even realize what these are?"

Cologne looked from her to the spear. "Demon crystals, of course. They are the proof that an Amazon---"

"They're _souls._" Setsuna cut her off, shaking her head.

"Impossible." Cologne folded her arms. "And what would a guardian of Serenity know of such matters anyway?"

Ranma found her eyes drawn to the stones as well and she nodded. Something about them was resonating with in very being. "I'd listen to her if I were ya…"

Cologne stared at the martial artist, then to Setsuna, who continued. "Those are pure heart crystals, the physical manifestation of a demon possessed soul."

"No." Cologne returned, but with far less certainty. The green haired one she could dismiss. Son in-law however, wouldn't lie to her, and she seemed to trust this one implicitly. It was at that moment the Elder began to share Setsuna's icy dread. "Because if what you're saying is true…"

"Your test is the defeat of enslaved souls." Setsuna finished with certainty.

The world around Cologne began to crumble, and she desperately sought an even footing. "I.. I.. No… The Joketsuzoku don't enslave souls."

"But Beryl would." Hotaru inserted, taking yet another hammer to Colognes world view.

Mousse and Shampoo watched Cologne's expression falter, then solidify before their eyes. "No. You have no proof."

"They can reverted back to their physical form easily enough." Setsuna pointed out, causing the matriarch to blink. "That should tell you if we're lying."

"And how would you do that?"

"By resurrecting them." Pluto replied in utter seriousness. "Hotaru?"

The slight girl looked at Pluto with shifting eyes and a pensive expression. "Not at the moment." She answered cryptically. Setsuna gave her a queer look, then noted the nervous expressions worn by Uranus and Neptune.

"Right." She shook her head. She'd be sure to ask them about just _who_ Saturn had resurrected later, as she was apparently inside her six hour recharge cycle. That only left one person. Setsuna turned to Ranma. "Normally, we'd have Hotaru do it, but under the circumstances," she cast another edgy stare at the pensive trio. "You're the only one with rez ability at the moment."

"I am?" Ranma blinked.

"She is?" The question came nearly simultaneously from the Amazonian trio.

Setsuna nodded. "You have the Ginzuishou and your daughter has performed the technique numerous times."

"Daughter…?" Cologne mused. It wasn't quite a smile, but by the look on her face, she was clearly intrigued. After all, she thought the girl Shampoo had reported on was insane. Maybe not after all?

Ranma looked to the elder, then back to Setsuna with a scowl. "That Odango-baka ain't my daughter… But if she can do it, so can I." She paused a moment before summoning the stone into her hand on reflex. She looked upon it, then the Amazons, whose eyes were a fraction wider than before. "Er… Okay, now what do I do with it?"

Setsuna smiled at her lifelong friend patiently. "From my observations, you use the Ginzuishou as a power focus and concentrate on the life force within the pure heart crystal. From there, try to manifest a physical body."

Cologne arched an eyebrow at the Senshi. "Manifesting a soul back onto the physical plain is not a task for amateurs, woman. You ask a lot, even of somebody as formidable as Son in-law."

Setsuna smiled grimly. "Let's just say I have a couple thousand years confidence in her abilities." She turned the smile on Ranma, who simply stared. The amount of confidence and certainty this woman had in her was unbelievable. "Ready?"

Bolstered by the person who had somehow rapidly become a valued friend, Ranma nodded and stared into the rock. She tugged on the power reservoirs discovered only weeks earlier within her and concentrated it, focusing like a magnifying glass into the shimmering stone. She reached out with her senses and found the pink crystals and the life force within. That was it. Now to let loose… Ranma Saotome uncorked the glowing white power within her and it gushed forward, blasting across her being and very soul. For a moment it was too much to comprehend, but she rapidly found focus and pushed it into the Ginzuishou. Power cascaded through the crystal, magnifying in potential as she sought her goal.

Ranma's new found power peaked, and her entire world went white.

* * *

"…taken heavy damage. I'm not sure how much longer we can hold Centari." The Senshi of Neptune reported, her three dimensional image distorted occasionally by sub-space static. Queen Serenity stared at the disembodied face floating in the holo tank before her. The image rocked as something large seemed to jar the warship on which Sailor Neptune stood, rolling it violently. Sparks cooked off behind her and she winced. "We're doing a fair job of cutting them down as the clear the gate, but that's not going to last, your Highness." 

Serenity nodded as the image crackled. "Do whatever it takes to hold the line, Michiru. We can't allow the bastards in system."

The Admiral of the Queens Second battle fleet smiled grimly. "We'll make our stand just outside of Proxima. I'll pop the airlocks and take them myself when the time comes."

_When_ the time comes, the ruler of the Silver Millennium noted bitterly, not_ if._ Her champion was out numbered out gunned and loosing ground, but even so would not yield. Serenity gave the image a final thoughtful look. "God speed, Neptune."

"And you, Serenity-chan. Adrassil clear."

The image blanked out, replaced immediately by a tactical plot covered with numerous lines, dots and red. _Lots_ of red. Serenity turned her attention back to the remainder of the crown bunker, which was alive with the ordered chaos of war. A young man in full uniform stepped to her side. Prince Endymion, she recognized. "The Second, Forth and Seventh fleets are heavily engaged. We've lost contact with the First and Eighth. Tactical is counting a fleet of nearly two hundred vessels inbound, not counting what Terra is throwing up. Civil defense is reporting youma combat landings all across our southern hemisphere."

She was just about to probe the officer for more information when Setsuna strode across the room and over to her. "Saturn just silenced Phaelon."

The Queen barely kept the shock from playing across her face as she swore mentally. Phaelon had been a core world of fifteen billion. Now it wasn't much more than scattered atoms, and Serenity knew that the situation had to have been beyond dire to push the Senshi to the extreme edge of her power.

"I want answers and I want them now." She ordered without emotion and Setsuna did her best to comply.

"We're looking at a mass sacrifice network." The Senshi of Pluto began without preamble. "Intelligence is estimating the liquidation of three quarters of Earth's population. Reports on the colonies are still sketchy, but given the forces arrayed against us…"

"It's bad." The Queen finished and Setsuna nodded. Bad was a massive wormhole junction appearing inside Earth's orbit, disgorging demonic forces. Bad was the simultaneous strike against nearly every world of her empire, overwhelming even her formidable forces. The mass sacrifice of her subjects to fuel an otherworldly strike force? No, this was _well_ beyond bad. "Who?"

By now the remaining Senshi had collected around their Queen, minus the Outers who were off world and more than likely fighting their own last stands. Sailor Mars took the question, having just gotten off the com array with central intelligence. "Everything we have is pointing to Senator Beryl."

This time Serenity couldn't keep the shock from her face. "There's got to be some mistake." Mistake or no, the intelligence arm of the crown was the best in the business. If they said Beryl…

"Tell me about it, your Highness." Mars groused, "If I hadn't seen the files myself, I wouldn't have believed it either."

Even Pluto blinked, checked by the thought. "She wasn't your biggest fan, granted, but a mass murderer?"

"One thing is for certain, she's going to burn for this." Rei said, earning astonished looks. "Whoever she made the deal with to sacrifice that many billions of people in order to conjure up a force this large is only going one place when it's time to pay up."

Even as the group began to contemplate the traitorous turn of events, the moon heaved around their sub-surface command bunker, sending half its staff to the ground. Dust filtered throughout the air as supports buckled, but held. Another crash and the bunker shook once more.

"STATUS REPORT!" Serenity's Chief of Staff roared above the rumbling, and officers rushed back to their stations.

"Those were nukes." Endymion said to nobody in particular, only to be confirmed moments later by their staff.

"The enemy fleet has cracked our orbital defenses!" One of the younger officers called out from across the room. "I've got nuclear detonations all across the surface!"

"Dammit…" Serenity growled, only to have her cursing cut off by an active com from the holo tank.

"We're not going to be able to hold Luna Rey much longer, your Highness!" The woman with cobalt blue hair hollered through the open channel. "The youma are advancing along the Sea of Tranquility, taking out anything in their path! Goddamn nukes are falling like rain out here!"

The Queen ground her teeth together. "Have your forces fall back, Mercury. I'll rally what's left of the 501st rendezvous to you as a delaying action until we can assemble something more substantial."

"Understood!" Mercury's image wavered with static. "We'll need air support to cover -"

Mercury's holographic image distorted wildly before being engulfed in a blinding flash, then static. The room stared on in shock as a distant rumble reverberated through the structure. Jupiter was the first to speak, looking up from her own command panel. "Gigaton range detonation. We just lost all of Luna Rey."

Serenity stood in shock for a minute that seemed to stretch on for years. How had she not seen this coming? Her empire was falling, world by world and now the enemy had landed on her doorstep. And Beryl of all people! She just had lunch with the senator less than a month ago! Another rumbling throughout the bunker's structure snapped her back to reality. Her forces were outnumbered, outgunned and out maneuvered. Surprise had been total and nearly half of her total star-born forces had been destroyed in their slips. Hell, she and the Senshi had been attending a goddamn royal ball when the first reports trickled in.

Setsuna Meiou watched her friend's face go from shock to absolute stone as she turned to face her. "Chronos protocols. Now."

The Senshi's mouth dropped. "The Gates are still only in phase two, Senny. We can't even backstep if the kingdom--

Serenity took the stunned woman's hand, warmth and pain spreading across her face. "We don't have a choice anymore, Set-chan."

"But what will I do when I get there?"

"You'll know." She replied softly, a single tear tracing down her cheek. "Go. Beryl and I have a date." Setsuna stared at her best friend carefully and assented with a solitary nod. It felt like a death sentence. The monarch turned her back on the green haired guardian and her slight frame glowed stiffened, glowing with authority. "Andrew! I want the 502nd Strike, 80th Landstraad and what's left of the Alpha to rendezvous at Sinus Amoris. We'll make our stand there."

The Senshi watched their queen expectantly as she glowed with power and vengeance. Any trace of the motherly figure they had known since her child's birth was gone, and they all knew what was coming next. Venus pulled a glowing crystalline blade from its sheath.

"Venus, Mars, Jupiter, _on me!"_ She bellowed and the Senshi took her flanks as the blast door to the surface ground open. The light of high intensity warfare flickered down the corridor.

"I'm coming too!" A blonde princess yelled, racing to Serenity's side. The Senshi smiled as their friend and princess joined them. Under normal circumstances, she would keep Usagi locked up and safe to continue the royal line with Endymion, who now stood at her side in full combat armor. Today was the exception to that rule. It was all or nothing, and her mother couldn't help but to be filled with pride at her daughter's determination.

"Of course you are, Moon." The silver haired monarch looked over the men and women around her and smiled grimly. "Beryl started this fight. _Let's go finish it._"

With those final words, Setsuna Meiou watched the last champions of the Silver Millennium and their Queen stride from bunker's safety and out to face their destinies.

* * *

Ranma Saotome bolted upright, covers sliding off her body with the movement. A pair of hands moved to restrain her and she struggled at first, her brain still coursing with adrenaline and firing on pure reaction. 

"What! Where? The youma!" Ranma gibbered wildly, and Setsuna's face came into view.

"Snap out of it, Senny! They're gone!" The martial artist struggled a moment longer, then paused as the words filtered through her brain. Beyond the Guardian of Time were the Outers and Cologne, waiting curiously. Setsuna took her chin gently and directed her attention back to her face. "What do you remember?"

Ranma paused as the weight of centuries pressed down upon her, with one century in particular dancing around in her head like a smoldering flame. "I remember it, Set… I remember the Moon…" Her eyes widened as the full realization slammed home. "Oh my God… _I lost everybody…_"

Cologne watched the scene with morbid fascination. The only time she had seen her son in-law this terrified was when he was covered in cats. And exactly who had he lost? She stared as Ranma curled up into a ball and Setsuna pulled the silver haired girl in to her embrace as the sobbing began in earnest.

"I killed everybody! I never saw it coming!" Ranma wailed, her eyes now flowing steadily with tears. "Why didn't you tell me!"

"I… I couldn't." The green haired Senshi explained softly. "You wouldn't have believed me anyway."

"God, I'm sorry… I'm so sorry!" She wailed and buried her face into Setsuna's breast. Michiru stepped to her side and knelt to her side.

"It's not your fault, your Highness…" Neptune stroked the Queen's silver hair and the sobbing faltered. It was enough for the remaining Senshi to gather around the woman who was simultaneously the embodiment of hope and despair.

"You couldn't have known, Serenity-chan" Uranus joined her lover and Setsuna, wrapping her arms around the grieving woman. Hotaru remained silent, but added her presence to the show of support with her own hug.

Cologne stared on in awe. There was no doubt. Couldn't be any doubt that this was the Serenity of legend. Her own damned son in-law, the goddess of the moon. The matriarch scowled internally. The universe had a seriously perverse sense of humor. She watched the women support the silver haired girl and shook her head. So Ranma Saotome, heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts truly was The Great Enemy. But how _much_ of an enemy still shared a portion of doubt in her mind.

She had only a half hour earlier resurrected two of her Amazons who where even now recovering as her great grand daughter and Mousse watched over them. Potion, a warrior she had known well and Wax, a warrior from before her time. The former seemed to be sleeping peacefully. The latter was still twitching and incoherent. She suspected severe psychological trauma, but whether that was from the resurrection or something more insidious had yet to be determined. Be that as it were, the enemy she knew wouldn't have even bothered to bring them back, and the Saotome she knew wasn't that enemy even if the proof was plain as day. Cologne frowned, this one translating from her minds eye to her face.

Something was _seriously_ amiss.

The Rite had her Amazons fight a summoned evil to prove their worth to Beryl. When the evil was defeated, they would return the demon crystals to the alter and await judgment. Only they weren't demon crystals at all. They were returning possessed souls to the alter, and those souls were apparently other Amazons who had taken the rite themselves. A deep chill crept through the Elder's body as horrible realization took her within its grip. The green haired woman couldn't possibly be right… Because if she was… If Ranma wasn't the evil they had been preparing for for so long…

Cologne shook the thought aside as Ranma gently broke the embraces around her and regained her footing. "I… um, thanks…" The silver haired girl began shakily, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Need some time to think about all this… Alone."

"But…"

Setsuna held up a hand, staying Michiru's objection. If their Queen wanted time alone after all this, she would damn well get it. They watched as Ranma Saotome-Serenity sauntered out of the Neko Han Ten, Cologne especially.

Both were going to need some time to sort out what was left of the shambles called their lives.

* * *

Stars. 

Ranma Saotome stared at them from the rooftop of the Tendo dojo, studying each one as she had many nights before. Tonight was different, however. She had always felt an affinity for those distant stars, which would explain why the roof had become her favorite place to unwind over the last three years. In reality, they had accompanied her everywhere she went, whether it be out here or some isolate region of china where the only roof over her head was the trees and the night sky.

Tonight, they were _her_ stars.

Every last one of them as far as the eye could see. _Her empire._ Or what was left of it. Part of her wanted to violently refute those facts. She was a guy and a martial artist, not the queen of a dead empire, let alone a mother.

Her memories told otherwise.

With the resurrection of Cologne's Amazons, that fragile curtain separating one life from the next had been torn open and the memories flowed easily now. Coherency left something to be desired, but they were there. She couldn't deny it now, even if she wanted to, and God, she wanted to. It was better to deny it all than face her crumbled legacy. More tears threatened to engulf her, and Ranma blinked them away furiously. The Senshi… They were her children just as much as her own daughter was. The rebellious faction in her mind tried to explain that fact away, only to buckle under the weight of a millennia's worth of experience. There was no explaining _any_ of it away. She remembered the birth of Usagi just as clearly as she remembered anointing Ami Thereisa Senshi and Guardian of Mercury. Ranma shook her head clear of another overwhelming set of memories, and her eyes fell upon the moon.

Home.

Her previous study of the Earth's ever present companion had always been cursory at best, but now she took in the glowing disk with new eyes. The brilliant jewel that had once been the seat of her kingdom was scarred, pot marked with craters. The martial artist remembered vividly the day she had walked out of the bunker and into hell itself, as an unending tide of youma laided waste to the peace she had worked so hard to build. Demonic starships stretched from one end of the horizon to the other as they dueled with the remnants of her fleet, miniature suns flaring in the night as they engaged in an orgy of mutually assured destruction.

It had taken everything one of those otherworldly starships had to bring Jupiter down, as it dumped megatons of ordinance down upon her position. Prince Endymion died upon Beryl's arrival, shortly followed by her daughter, having taken her own life as she fell upon Venus' sword. Her last guardian died as youma swarmed over the weaponless Senshi's position. That left Beryl and her. The youma were inconsequential to that final, desperate battle, and she had nothing to lose. Even in those last moments, she had relented, sealing the traitorous senator away instead of sentencing her to the damning fires that undoubtedly awaited her. Was it out of pity she didn't finish the woman off?

Definitely.

Even in that last moment, she could tell her political rival was nothing more than a puppet. Maybe time would break that hold, but she had other things to worry about. Things like securing the future. Ranma remembered using the last of her life force to gather her guardian's souls and project them forward in order to protect the survivors of the apocalypse. The puppet master was still out there, after all, and Pluto would know what to do. She always had. She had even sent the cats forward to help out. Ranma paused, jolted from her self loathing with that last thought.

What the _hell_ was she thinking?

The silver haired girl shook her head, doubting the judgment that had prompted her to send felines into the future where they would continue to pester her, but relented. She remembered them too, and Setsuna was right. She couldn't ask for a kinder pair of souls to help her guardians out… Even if they were cats.

The rooftop thunked and Ranma found the rails of a ladder had been propped against the edge with the face of Akane Tendo bobbing up above the roofline shortly after. Her face flashed with concern for a moment, then irritation as she stepped full up to the rooftop.

"You're missing supper, baka."

Ranma blinked and couldn't help but to smile a bit. "Thanks, Akane. Think I'll just stay up here for a bit."

Akane tilted her head. Ranma… forgo food? Something was amiss and she came to entirely the wrong conclusion. "Look, idiot, I didn't touch it tonight so come down and eat it already."

Ranma couldn't help but to chuckle now. "Just got a lot on my mind right now, is all."

Akane considered the silver haired girl laying down in front of her and shrugged, taking a seat next to her. "The Senshi?" Ranma nodded silently and Akane rolled her eyes. "Some heroines they turned out to be. The guardians of love and justice couldn't even beat you." The youngest Tendo failed to notice Ranma's frown as she continued. "Heck, even I could give that bumbling Sailor Moon a good pasting."

Ranma bolted upright as her patience snapped abruptly, startling the girl next to her. Akane stared into those blue eyes as they flashed with anger.

"Don't _ever_ talk about my daughter like that again."

Akane stared at her fiancé with wide eyes, trying to play back her words, only to have logic intercede. There was no way Ranma had just called Sailor moon… She watched as her expression softened. "Though she is a bit clumsy, isn't she?" The youngest sister didn't dare reply. This was getting entirely too weird. Ranma sighed. "Looks like we'll have to hit the training hard until she remembers."

"You're… Not serious." Akane stuttered and watched Ranma's face turn serious.

"I…" She paused, as if trying to pick the right thought to express. "Hell, I don't know… I don't even know who I am anymore, 'Kane."

"But you just said that Sailor Moon…"

Ranma stared at the incredulous Akane and hung her head. "She is."

The Tendo boggled at the claim. Ranma, man among men and the best martial artist in half of Tokyo had just admitted that Sailor Moon- her _heroine_ -was her daughter! Which of course was totally impossible given their relative ages. "Look Ranma… I don't know what that stupid rock has done to you, but…"

"Ain't a stupid rock, Akane." Ranma's flashed with warning once again, and once again, Akane was taken back. Somehow she had gone from knowing the person next to her to tripping over landmines left and right. It wasn't their usual insulting, but ultimately friendly banter either. "That's 'stupid rock' represents the sacrifice of few billion people, so don't _even_ start."

"A few billion…?" Akane breathed softly and stared into Ranma's hardened features. Like so many other things, it just didn't make any sense, but the martial artist was dead serious about everything she said.

"Yeah, I…" She paused again, reconciling memories and a personality that was simultaneously foreign and intimately hers. "Look, I'm everything they said I was. I'm a goddamn magical girl queen, Akane… Hell, I even had a kid…"

"But… how?" Akane asked quietly. It was the only thing she could do beyond call her a liar right to her face. And she was tempted. Sorely tempted. All this talk was absolutely ludicrous, but she could see Ranma was absolutely convinced …Just as she had been convinced that she had been a girl nearly a year ago after getting a hard knock on the head.

"Beats the hella out of me, but I always have been. She's me and I'm her…" Ranma shook her head slowly.

"Who?"

"Queen Serenity. Her. Me." Ranma said in a somewhat disoriented tone, as if she wasn't sure herself. "We're the same…"

Akane just shook her head. "Look, just turn back to a guy and it'll be okay."

"That'd probably make it all worse at this point." Ranma dismissed the suggestion outright. "Last thing I need is a few thousand years of female memories in a guy's body." She shivered at the thought and Akane stared in disbelieve at how easily her fiancé dismissed reverting back to her birth form. The pigtailed girl seemed to think about it a moment longer and nodded. "Maybe you're right…" Akane was filled with the sudden swell of hope. "Food sounds good right about now."

The youngest Tendo nearly face planted straight off the roof.

Down stairs, the family stared at the martial artist, who picked over her food calmly. That was odd, but not necessarily noteworthy in and of itself. The method by which she was doing it was highly irregular, as she was doing so in a precise and discriminating manner; A far cry from the inhuman appetite they were used to. Not to mention the boy was still a girl and apparently had no problem with the fact, if Akane's attitude was any indication. This, of course, put Genma out. Not only was the boy a girl, he was slacking on his training if his eating was an example. Sloppy. No guard. No way to switch into a rapid offense. The grip was all wrong._ Damn_ sloppy. Time to bring the boy back to reality. The father's grip switched suddenly and shot towards Ranma's plate.

Tik-tik-tik-tik-_WHAM!_

The shock reverberated throughout the table and Genma pulled back in shock, his chopsticks now mere smoldering matches. Ranma held the severed portion in her own chopsticks and favored her father with a rather displeased expression.

"Show the master some respect."

Genma blinked and Nabiki produced a crooked smile from the far edge of the table. "Kind of full of ourselves now, aren't we?"

Ranma arched an eyebrow. "Me? Naw. My cooking ain't that good."

Kasumi's mouth opened, slightly startled, and the rest of the family simply stared at Ranma. She had just called Kasumi a _master_? "Um.. uh, you're too kind Ranma-kun."

Ranma shook her head. "Uh-uh. You bury most of the crown chefs hands down."

Akane cocked her head and Nabiki couldn't help but to repeat the pigtailed girl's words. "Chefs of the crown?"

Ranma was about to elaborate, but closed her mouth. "Er, never mind."

"Son, I think it's time you change back to your normal self." Nodoka inserted, earning Ranma's undivided attention.

"Not likely, Mom." Everybody at the table's jaw dropped. Ranma, the manly son who rarely disobeyed his mother now outright denied her request. "Got some things to sort out before that happens."

"Like how you're supposively the queen of an empire?" Akane prodded, expecting to incense Ranma. Instead, she received an amiable nod for her trouble.

"Exactly."

"Queen of an Empire, Saotome?" Nabiki shot a skeptical look toward the pigtailed girl, who shrugged.

"Boy, what the hell has gotten into you!" Genma stood up, glowering at his son.

Another shrug and Ranma took bite of his food. "A millennia's worth of memories."

"It's unmanly to go around in your female body on purpose, Son." Nodoka added. "I insist you change back now."

"Goddamn queen of the galaxy and I still can't get any respect around here…" Ranma mumbled under her breath.

"You're _not _queen of the galaxy!" Akane blurted, apparently having heard the introspective. "I swear, do we have to knock you on the head to change you back like last time!"

"You think I asked for the job!" Ranma bit back, her patience beginning to wear. "Hell, I didn't ask for it the first time, let alone the second!"

"Boy, change back now!"  
"You can't marry my Akane like that, Ranma!"  
"I insist you change out of that unmanly form!"

Ranma's eyes twitched with each demand and finally her patience expired. "You want a manly form! Try this!"

The room flashed with white light and by the time their eyes had adjusted, both the Tendo and Saotome contingent stared in stunned awe. Ranma had not disappeared, moved or even bothered changing back into her 'manly form'. In fact, the only thing that had changed was her wardrobe, which had they known better, was now full Silver Millennium ball room dress. The sleeveless white dress flowed over Ranma's body, wrapping around her neck and accentuating every curve. A beautiful jeweled choker adorned her neck and cascading earrings glistened down the sides of her face. Her silver pigtail had grown out to a full length ponytail, ending near the small of her back and tied off to a silver ring. Even her forehead was adorned with a golden upturned moon.

"Oh… _Oh my!_" Kasumi stared, taking in the stunning beauty with wide eyes. The illusion was marred only by the angry visage of a severely pissed of Ranma.

"I mean come on people!" The silver haired girl fumed. "My entire life is martial arts training hell! I have a gender curse! I get attacked by phoenix birds! Is it really so hard to believe!"

The answer, was of course, rhetorical, and even if the family had one to provide, the best they could manage was watching the girl turn on a crystal heel and stalk out into the summer night.

* * *

"Stupid family… " Ranma grumbled as she stomped down the sidewalk. It wasn't the grumbling that earned her nearly as many stares as her current state of dress, which was collecting numerous gawkers. The light tick of crystal heels clicked with her discontent. "Stupid engagement… Stupid fiancée…" 

"My pigtailed Empress!" Ranma's eye twitched once again as the vaguely familiar title found her ears. "Wait up, your majesty! It is I, your most noble warrior, Tatewake of house Kuno!"

Ranma stopped and waited for the boy to catch up. Might as well, she thought. He'd pester her until he had either explained his presence or she punted him into the horizon, one of the two. Even as she watched him approach, that familiar feeling of dread washed over her. Not only was he still running around with the house blade tied to his side, his regular bluish gray hakama had been replaced with a black silk version. He was getting almost the same number of stares as she was, all things considered.

"You have proven most difficult to find this day, your Highness," Kuno stopped at her side, catching his breath. "But fortunately you are already dressed for the occasion!"

Ranma sighed. She already had too many people calling her 'your highness', let alone a nut case like Kuno. Even so, he-- Her thoughts stopped suddenly as his words played back in her mind. "Waitaminute… What 'occasion'?"

"A dinner affair of one worthy such as yourself, my Empress." Kuno explained, earning a queer look from the martial artist queen.

"Dinner? You ain't trying to take me out on a date, are ya?"

"Of course not, your Highness!" Kuno looked positively horrified at the suggestion. "My station as your loyal retainer would not allow such a breach of protocol!"

"Er, right." Ranma commented, contemplating the turn of events. While she would be more than happy to return to her dish back at the dojo, that was an impossibility at the moment and she _was_ hungry. "Just dinner?" The Kuno nodded happily. "Alright, let's go then."

No sooner had she given her assent then a limousine pulled up to the curb. A chauffeur exited the vehicle and opened the doors for both Tatewake and herself. She climbed in only to find yet another surprise waiting for her-- Kodachi Kuno, the black rose, also in full ballroom dress. It was an odd clash, part of Ranma's brain noted absently as she settled next to the woman. Her white dress versus Kodachi's silken black gown. The sister gave her a slight smile and inclined her head.

"Your Highness. A pleasure to see you again." Doors closed and Ranma felt like she had just stepped into the twilight zone.

"You ain't gonna try and poison me again, are ya?" Ranma asked warily and a sufficiently horrified look occupied Kodachi's face.

"Heaven's no! And I apologize for any past misunderstandings." She took Ranma's hand into a black velvet glove. "Had I known you were royalty, I would have surly believed your claims of not wanting my stallion Ranma. Fetching he may be, but he is far below the station of one such as yourself."

"Er… Yeah." Ranma replied intelligently. Who would have thought that being the Queen of an Empire would be a 'get out of Kuno free' card? If only it worked that way with her family…

"Indeed, we have both underestimated her Eminence on a great many things." Tatewake replied, and both siblings nodded in agreement. Small talk continued for the remainder of the ten minute trip, and Ranma was pleasantly surprised at how engaging the Kuno's could actually be when they weren't preoccupied with trying to either date or kill her. In between conversation, she would catch a glimpse out the window, seeing only enough to realize they had long since exited the Nerima prefect. Moments later the limo came to a stop and the doors opened. The trio stepped out and Ranma found herself just outside a mansion every bit as formidable as the Kuno's own.

"This don't look like a restaurant." She mentioned as they made their way up the lighted path, encountering the doorman. Tatewake paused before approaching, turning to the silver haired martial artist.

"If I may, you're Highness, what would your hereditary title be?" He asked politely.

Ranma was about to bite his head off with a sharp retort, but checked her response. What the hell. Might as well have fun with the whole thing if she was going to be wading waist deep in it tonight. "Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium, House of the Moon."

Tatewake nodded, as if it were all a given and stepped up to the doorman, whispering in his ear. He flinched visibly and opened the door. Beyond the smartly dressed doorman was a stately ballroom with numerous guests already in attendance. It also look like something out of feudal Japan, as the men were all garbed in ceremonial hakamas or some other formal wear while the women wore mostly kimonos. What the hell was going on in--

"Tatewake and Kodachi of House Kuno!" The doorman bellowed and the idle din of chatter emanating from the room subsided as they turned to view the new arrivals. That was when it hit Ranma. He wasn't actually about to tell the room-- "Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium, House of the Moon!"

Absolute silence reigned as the trio made their way past the doorman and down the red carpet where all eyes were fixed on them. More specifically, fixed on _her_. It only got worse as they made their way down the center of the room. Rank by rank of guests either fell to one knee or bowed formally to acknowledge her presence until the entire room had received her arrival in the same manner. Ranma's eyes were wide now as her head rotated on a swivel eyes wide. If Kuno's limo had been the twilight zone, the room she now occupied had to be some freaky alternate dimension where common sense had been rendered null and void. Not just null and void, she revised as another group kneeled. Stomped, spit on and obliterated beyond recognition. Part of her should have been used to such displays of reverence. Her memory told her it hadn't been the first time, but that had been a long, long time ago.

A lifetime ago, specifically.

"_What the hell is going on here, Kuno!_" She pulled Kuno down to her height, hissing into his ear. The only reason she didn't dispose of him outright were the witnesses. Something told her punting him through the roof in a ballroom setting would be inappropriate at the moment. Maybe she'd stomp on him later. Once they were alone.

Kuno seemed to take the matter in stride, as his insanity seemed to allow as of late. "An assembly worthy of one such as yourself, you Highness."

"But _who?_"

"Only all the most noble samurai houses of Japan." Kuno replied and Ranma's eyed bugged.

_"WHAT!"_ It was all she could do to keep from shrieking in his ear.

"They have been looking quite forward to meeting you since my brother discovered your heritage." Kodachi supplied.

"It is an honor to meet you your Highness." An older gentleman with graying hair stepped up to the trio in full samurai formal, bowing. "I'm Yoshoto, my wife Naki," he gestured to his wife, wrapped in a beautiful purple and gold flaked kimono. "of House Toki."

Ranma desperately sought to keep her jaw from hanging open. Clan Toki's pedigree was without question. Akechi Mitsuhide, one of the most famous samurai in all of Japan just _happened_ to descend from their line. She looked at him and his wife, forcing a smile. "Very nice to meet you, Toki-san."

It was going to be a _long_ night.

* * *

_"What did you say?"_

Cologne stared into the familiar crystal ball, the centerpiece of the back room it occupied. From it stared and equally familiar, if not fondly looked upon face. Distorted eyeballs widened and the Elder suppressed a smile.

"Potion and Wax live." She stated with ineffable calm, satisfied in the way her words had rattled her counterpart back in China.

"But… _How?_" The crystal born voice returned in shock. Understandable shock, Cologne thought. Potion herself hadn't been that old. Maybe three generations. Wax, however… _She_ predated both elders by at least a century according to the records she had on hand.

"Son in-law… resurrected them both." Cologne continued, purposely avoiding the hated name. The woman on the end choked.

"HE WHAT!" The elder at the other end of the curvature blurted, then reigned herself in. "What aren't you telling me, Cologne?"

The Matriarch sighed. She had been trying to spin this to the Saotome's benefit, but there were only so many ways to report the fact that her sisters in arms had just been returned to the land of the living by an ancient enemy. "She used the demon crystals."

Total silence followed the proclamation for a moment, a moment broken by her counterparts denial. "Impossible."

"They lay in my establishment as I speak." Cologne returned. "I assure you that--"

"Do you actually believe that the enemy would bring the priestesses of our goddess back to life!" The voice was practically shrill now.

Cologne shook her head. "I would not if they weren't already lying in the next room, Douche."

The distorted image snarled back at her. "Obviously the Enemy has corrupted your mind!"

"The Saotome child has done no such thing!" Cologne bit back angrily. She didn't like where this conversation was going. Not one bit. "The facts are--"

"That she has resurrected demons to hide amongst you, fool!" The crystal ball glared. "Kill them and dispose of the Serenity before she takes you as her slave too!"

"You cannot be serious! At least see them for yourself!" She said the words, but Cologne already knew they were falling on deaf ears. She just had no idea how deaf they were.

"So be it." The hysteric Elder lapsed into deadly calm. "By order of the tribal council, your status is hereby suspended until we can deal with the Serenity. After that, we will determine the level of your corruption and the appropriate punishment."

"I cannot stress enough the importance--"

"Good day Cologne, and may Beryl have mercy on your eternal soul." Cologne's eyes widened and the image abruptly faded out, the connection severed. The Elder sat in a state of shock for a good five minutes before regaining her sense. I've just been deposed, she realized, staring at the darkened crystal. They actually did it! And the fools have no idea what they're walking into out here!

The ex-Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku took to her cane and exited the room hastily. The fools wouldn't even listen to reason. She hadn't betrayed anyone and the evidence was right here before her. She entered the room where Potion still slept dreamlessly beneath her covers and Wax tossed and turned in unconscious agony. Shampoo took note of her great grandmother's arrival, but turned her attention back to the struggling woman. Cologne focused , probing both newly reborn women with every technique at her disposal, trying to pierce the illusion Douche insisted existed.

_Nothing._

Damn them. Her brain raced through the probable set of outcomes, now that the boulder was truly in motion and rolling downhill. Her people would undoubtedly assemble an assassination squad or two to dispose of son in-law, then take me back for trial and punishment. Who knows what they would do to Shampoo and Mousse, let alone the rest of Ranma's family and the Tendos. Collaborators are, after all, obstacles, and everybody knows what happens to _those_.

Assuming they could kill the Saotome, of course.

She severely doubted it. Anybody who could resurrect two people in one day AND had Ranma's martial arts ability would probably decimate any squad they sent, and once Douche realized that, would revise her plans. No, she'd send in _several_ squads to do the job. Eventually they'd get Ranma or his family by proxy. The attrition would be damn high though, she calculated, envisioning the bodies Ranma would leave in her wake.

And that wasn't even taking into account the magical girls.

What they lacked in skill, they more than made up for in power. If Ranma fell, Cologne was absolutely sure they would rain hell down upon the Amazon nation until nothing was left …Especially if the odangoed blonde really was son in-laws daughter. A chilling realization swept over Cologne as the full implications of an assault on Ranma came home to roost.

_There wouldn't be one Amazon left standing._

The blonde and Ranma's green haired friend would exact terrifying vengeance, and both had more than enough power to do it. Douche had _no_ idea just how thin the knife edge she was riding really was! One misstep and Amazons would be extinct in a matter of weeks, if not days. If Ranma really was the menace of legend, then it would be an uphill and very bloody battle. Even without the boost in power, Ranma had taken out Saffron, no small feat with or without help. Cologne considered the dilemma carefully. If the martial artist wasn't their ancient evil, then she'd have to step very carefully to not only ensure her survival, but that of her people's as well.

The Elder shook her head, looking into the now empty dining area of the Neko Han Ten where so many adventures had begun. This was going to take careful planning and methodic planning.

* * *

Setsuna Meiou's eyes popped open as a dull thud echoed from down stairs at irregular intervals. Her eyes adjusted from their bleary state and a quick reference to her chronometrically linked physiology told her the time was well into the AM hours. She slid out of her bed and stepped through the bedroom doorway, her senses growing more alert with each passing second. 

_Thunk-Thunk-Thunk!_

Was that… The door? She made her way to the staircase when another bedroom door opened, one frazzle haired Haruka peeking out with an irritated expression. Behind her, Michiru yawned sleepily from the bed.

"Who the hell is that?" The Outer growled as the Mistress of Time walked past her.

"Come on, Set-chan… Know yer in there…"

Setsuna blinked, recognizing the muffled voice instantly. Her steps quickened down the stairs and her hand instantly found the front door now, unlocking it and swinging it wide. Before her stood a bleary eyed, but smiling Queen of the Silver Millennium.

"Heyas Set-chan, what are you doing here?" Ranma stared at her, scrutinizing her friend. Setsuna was practically knocked back a few feet from her breath, which reeked of alcohol.

She pulled the silver haired girl in. "You've _got_ to be kidding… What the hell happened to you?"

"Me?" Ranma blinked, stumbling into the Senshi. "Aw, I just got pissed off at all of 'em and left the dojo."

Setsuna looked the martial artist up and down, noting the fine dress. "And apparently mugged a royal ball with a free liquor bar?"

"Yeah, they were swell…" Ranma swayed, rolling her words in time. "Kuno's a nice guy… Even his psycho sister."

"Riiight." Setsuna nodded, taking the girl under her arm to support her as they took to the stairs. She looked up to find Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru staring with wide eyes. She passed them with the staggering queen and burned a stare their way. "Not a word."

With that, Michiru and Hotaru simply nodded their heads while Haruka's face broke into a smile, grinning like an idiot. Setsuna and Ranma made it to the door when her words reached them.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

The Senshi of Time whipped her head around and shot her a look that promised great pain if she so much as breathed another word in their direction. Haruka made a show of zipping her lips and throwing away the key before retiring with the others back to their rooms. Setsuna scowled and nudged her best friend through the doorway, which she promptly closed. Ranma plopped onto her bed, still smiling. The Senshi rolled her eyes and sat down next to her. "You just had to go and get blasted without me, didn't you?"

Ranma frowned. "Sorry, Setsy… But they were sooo nice… I woulda invited you if I'da known…"

"Known? Who was nice?"

The smile returned to her face. "All them Samurai… better than pirates. Pledged their allegiance to me an' everything."

Setsuna blinked. "They _what?_"

Ranma started to chuckle to herself. "Hehehe… They think I'm queen of the world or somethin'..." She paused, thinking hard on the matter. "But I ain't… I'm queen of the goddamn galaxy!"

The green haired woman shook her head. There were very few reasons for Serenity to get blitzed and she could pretty much guess the one that had triggered this binge. Emotional stress and trauma? Naw, that wouldn't have anything to do with it. She gave her best friend a final look and sighed. "Well we just can't have that can we?"

"Have what?"

Setsuna rocked off the bed and opened her closet, pulling an ancient, highly decorated bottle that sloshed with a potent red liquid. She reached in the closet once more and found the two glasses that went with the bottle. It only took a fraction of her strength to uncork the bottle.

"Aaaahhhhh..." Ranma's eyes lit up as the red liquid slipped into the crystal chalices. A part of her dim awareness recognized it immediately.

"We can't have you getting plastered alone." Setsuna finally returned to Ranma's question, handing her one of the glasses. "Mercury fire wine, circa 347 SM. That makes it, oh, just over fourteen thousand years old."

Ranma smiled that vague, buzzed smile. "Toast?"

Setsuna nodded. "To best friends."

Ranma's smile widened as she touched the glass to hers with a light 'ting'.

"Best_est_ friends."

* * *

**Author's Notes--**  
_I absolutely love this writing this fic, which would explain why I've belted anothr part out so quickly. It's late here so I'm just gonna wrap this up with a thanks to all the regulars, DCG and Yarrow especially. BTW; Fukufics is under site renovation. Don't ask me when it'll be back up, but it will. _

_Outro. _


	6. Chapter 6

**Heir to the Empire  
**Part VI**  
**By _Ozzallos_**  
**Edited by _Quizer _

**I**t was a warzone.

There was no other way to put it, Usagi thought as she silently pushed the door open. The place was in absolute disarray; as if some major battle had taken place on the premises. She had seen places trashed by youma, and this one was every bit the battlefield. It seemed no part of the premises remained untouched, and it was all the guardian of love and justice could do not to power up into full Senshi mode right then and there. The blonde odango-atama nudged the door open wider, allowing a shaft of morning light to further illuminate the apartment. She cringed. To say the property damage was extensive was an understatement of massive proportions. Broken tables. Shattered lamps. Even the television looked like it had taken a critical hit or two.

And the bodies.

Usagi's eyes widened as they came into view. She was about to assume the worst until a loud snore broke her panicked thoughts and a huge sweat drop rolled down the side of her forehead.

"They're _sleeping?_" Ami inquired, peering through the door herself. Moon could only stare as the rest of the Inners filed into the disaster area. It would have been a hilarious sight if not for the carnage surrounding them. On the sofa were the first bodies, Setsuna Meiou sitting comatose in her purple night gown with a silver-haired Ranma Saotome in a ballroom dress draped across her. Both subjects were, for all intents and purposes, inert. Haruka Tenou lay crumpled in a plush chair nearby, wearing only a pair of panties and a cutoff t-shirt. Michiru Kaioh lay near by. In fact, she laid curled around Haruka's feet in her nighty. The final combatant was passed out in the middle of the floor, as if she had tried to make it to the next room but was assailed by her arch nemesis, gravity.

"Why is Hotaru in her adult form?" Rei asked, stepping around the planet buster's long, luscious hair carefully.

"God only knows…" Makoto was staring herself, managing to avoid the remains of a shattered… something. It could have been anything from a plate to vase for all she knew.

"This might have something to do with it." Minako bent over, picking up an intricately cast glass crystal bottle. "Praxiteles Vineyards, 347 SM."

"Apparently it was a good year." Ami replied dryly, looking over the fallen Outers and their Queen.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Moon," Minako smiled as she set the bottle on one of the only tables left standing. "Your mother is _so_ cool!"

Usagi stared at the woman that was allegedly her mother passed out across Setsuna's lap and twitched. She would have sooner believed a youma attack. Maybe the next big enemy. Definitely _not_ an all out party blitz.

With the apartment door opened further to admit guests, the shaft of light illuminating the room grew in intensity. Were the beam of sunlight now pouring through the open door a physical manifestation of some sort, it would have burnt a clear line across the living room, over a three legged chair and up the sofa, severing Ranma in half and burning Setsuna's retina's out as snored softly on the sofa. Fortunately, the morning light wasn't a physical manifestation of any sort, so the only thing in series of events to actually occur was the Princess of Pluto's retina being burned out as she cracked one eye open, evidentially disturbed from her alcohol induced coma.

"UuuuuuHhhggg…" All eyes turned on Time's Senshi, who was now blinking furiously at her impromptu wakeup call. "My head…"

"She lives." Rei watched with raised eyebrows as life seeped back into the Senshi of time.

Setsuna pressed her fingers to her temples and began massaging with a pained expression writ across her face. "God, I hate hangovers…" After another moment of studying her audience with squinty eyes, the Senshi summoned what energy she could and pushed herself off the sofa.

_THunk! _

The Mistress of Time paused with the sound of heavy weight hitting the floor, then noticed the horrified expressions of the Inner Senshi staring at her and her feet. She too looked down and found her queen's body lying at her feet. Setsuna stared down at Ranma for a moment longer and yawned. "Sorry 'bout that Senny."

"Ninety…ZZzzzz… six." Came the muffled reply, half absorbed by Ranma's carpet infused face and an accompanying snore.

Setsuna Meiou adopted a bland, disinterested look. "Ninety-seven." The Inners gaped as Setsuna proceeded to step over their monarch, somehow adeptly avoiding the three legged table despite her apparent haze. She cast a side glance over to her silent observers.

"Coffee. Lots of it." When combined with her hung-over, disheveled state, the look she gave them was sufficient motivation to peel Makoto from their ranks to comply with the order. The remainder shuffled nervously back as Setsuna found the crystal bottle at the end table. She stared at for a moment and grabbed it, upturning the container and staring up the opening. "Yep, that would explain it."

It didn't explain it for Minako, who had been a party girl herself, back in the days of fighting for love and justice solo. "But it's only one bottle!"

The green-haired woman simply shook her head, staring at the bottle. "One bottle of 14,000 year old fire wine." She set it down gently. "The stuff might as well have been reactor fuel. Michi and 'Ru went down after only five shots. 'Ruka, eight. Senny took ten and I didn't last much past twelve."

Usagi's mouth hung open. "You got the Outers drunk!"

"And your Mom." Minako added, clearly amused. Usagi cast a rather unamused glare in her direction.

Setsuna began to massage her temples again with the blonde's pitched voice. "No, she was already drunk. I just got her plastered."

"Just." Rei intoned dryly, eliciting a nod from Setsuna.

"Trust me, she needed it." The green-haired princess paused as a familiar scent wafted across her nose. Seconds later a smiling Makoto reappeared with a fresh steaming cup of coffee. Setsuna's eyes locked onto the white china cup and snatched from the Senshi's hand as soon as it came within nominal striking distance. The black liquid was instantly set to her lips and a soft, gurgling moan accompanied its consumption. The remaining teens looked at her with mild surprise and slight disgust at the display of gluttony. From Usagi, it was the norm, but from the mysterious Sailor Pluto?

"Mmmmuuuhhg…" The silver-haired figure on the floor grumbled, causing Setsuna to look down at her feet. The girl rolled into a slightly more comfortable position, prompting her best friend to nudge her with a bare foot.

"Up, Senny." She frowned, motioning with her nearly empty cup of joe. "If I have to suffer, so do you."

"...damn newsies…" The girl grumbled, still very much asleep. Setsuna rolled her eyes, while Ami arched an eyebrow.

"What's a 'Newsies'?"

Setsuna didn't even spare her a glance, draining the small cup entirely before giving Ranma a harder nudge with her foot. "Wrong century, Serenity-chan."

It took a few more forceful nudges to bring the Queen of the Silver Millennium out of her comatose state and into something that was more…lively. Or alive. The Inners continued to watch the scene with morbid fascination as Setsuna helped her best friend to the couch. It took a few more minutes of coaxing for the majority of the Queens brain to come into what could be loosely termed an operational status. This event was notably marked by the words:

"Oh, God, my head…"

The world slowly came back into focus for the Saotome, causing eyes as red as her former hair color to squint first at Setsuna, then the surrounding Inners. Great. Just great. It was only the second time in her life she had gotten drunk, and now she had more witnesses to the act then the first. Her eyes drifted onto the blonde, whose blue eyes shone brightly with concern. It was like she was looking into a mirror. The alcohol induced hangover only made the situation all the more surreal.

"Mom… Are you… alright?" Neurons fired sporadically, and it took Ranma a moment to realize just who Usagi was referring to her. Worse still was the fact that she couldn't even deny it anymore, had her higher logic functions been up to the task. The silver-haired girl frowned as the realization was accompanied by a dull, painful throb through her head.

"OOOooooh_… No_." She shook her head and took another thoughtful look at her daughter as the implications rang home. "Definitely _not_ okay." Her gaze drift over to the passed out Outers. "Some bodyguards."

"If I remember correctly, you _ordered_ them to celebrate." Setsuna offered.

"Ordered them?" Rei blinked cluelessly.

"I stand corrected," Minako said, smiling widely at Usagi. "Your mom isn't just cool, she _rocks!_"

"MOOOOM!"

"Owowowowo…" Ranma winced at the pitch of her daughter, causing her best friend to wince in kind. The commotion, in turn, disturbed the remaining casualties from last night's apocalypse. The Inners watched the spectacle repeat itself as it had with Ranma and Setsuna before her with the same horrible fascination. It was like watching the dead return to the land of the living. Usagi had actually performed the former, but it had been much prettier and far less excruciating than the sight before her now. Haruka and Michiru were understandable. A good snockering wasn't beyond their capabilities. A disheveled and fully adult Hotaru, on the other hand...

Setsuna watched the sight, shaking her head with more empathy than she wanted to share at the moment. "More coffee, Makoto. Stat."

* * *

_Tap-tap-tap._

Ranma Saotome, Heir of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts and Ruler of the former Silver Millennium empire sat alone in Setsuna Meiou's bedroom, staring at the clothing laid out on the bed in front of her. On the surface of things, the dilemma was obvious—When she summoned the ballroom dress last night, she had banished her Chinese silks to God only knew where. Given her loose grasp on her newly found power, it didn't look like they were coming back anytime soon either, which meant that unless she wanted to stay a spectacle all day, she needed to borrow some clothing. Her diminutive female stature was somewhat problematic, as none of the other girls seemed to have the right frame to donate spare clothing…

There was one person, however.

That's where Ranma's problem quickly descended into murky angst. The clothing on the bed in front of her belonged to none other than Usagi Tsukino, the girl that was all but certainly her daughter. Weird didn't even begin to cover the situation as a whole, let alone finding out she had had a daughter in the first place. That, in turn, dredged up memories on how she had gotten a daughter to begin with. All in all, it was an endlessly circle of depression, fond memories and brutal reality that took its toll on the martial arts queen.

_Tap-tap-tap-tap._

It didn't help matters that the sleeveless orange blouse-skirt combination was a tad over the top in terms of femininity. Ranma had gone through the Outer's closet and would have much rather worn some of Haruka's stuff, but the sizes were just all wrong. Michiru did have some panties to donate, but whether that was a blessing or yet another curse had yet to be determined. She was pretty sure the lacy shimmering panties _weren't_ a blessing, and her only consolation was that she had worn worse over the last two and a half years with the Tendos. At least nobody else would be seeing this particular undergarment.

_At least I managed to avoid the thongs_, Ranma thought to herself with a slight cringe. Even that particular thought worried her. The cringe wasn't nearly as strong as it ought to have been, because at the back of her mind she knew she could wear one, _had_ worn one and looked _good_ in one. At least in the distant past. Fortunately, that part of her personal past hadn't reasserted itself with any force… yet. She knew there were changes going on behind the scenes. Subtle changes in her behavior, such as a lower tolerance for bullshit. In fact, she was amazed that she had been so tolerant in her stay at the dojo as she reflected upon the matter.

Regardless, that particular topic was several priorities lower than the one at hand. It could be dealt with later. The fact that she had a daughter, on the other hand…

_Tap-tap-tap—_

"Go away."

"Umm," A muffled voice issued through the doorway, which clicked open. Ranma recognized the face immediately, and the pit in her stomach grew exponentially. "Just wondering if my stuff is fitting you okay… Mom."

The silver-haired girl sighed silently at the girl's not so subtle attempt to open a conversation with her. Evidentially, Fate wasn't about to leave her alone to find some other poor, unfortunate sap to beat up. Either that, or it was extremely adept at multi-tasking. This time, the sigh was audible.

"Look… I… You… we…" Ranma began is a somewhat edgy tone, but it quickly dissipated as she looked into Usagi's eyes. "They… they'll fit just fine."

Usagi nodded and an expectant silence settled between them. Both girls stared at one another until Usagi's expression cracked, her eyes glistening.

"Am I really so bad, mother?"

Ranma blinked. She had been expecting small talk. Chit-chat. Definitely not a scorned child desperately seeking redemption from her the woman she thought was her mother. And now, she felt like an absolute heel. A tear trickled down the blonde's cheek and any resistance within Ranma collapsed. She stepped forward and pulled the girl into a hug.

"No… No, it ain't you…" She replied as her daughter buried her head into her mother's shoulder, sniffling. "It ain't you at all…"

The sobbing continued for another five minutes as Ranma stroked Usagi's. It was awkward and unnatural to the martial artist, but there was little else she could do. The experience that came with this life wanted to vehemently deny that any such nonsense had occurred. Then came the memories. Fragmented and marginal, but they were there, and they showed that the child in her arms now was most definitely hers. She let the girl sob on her shoulder for another minute before the tears began to subside, allowing her to finally pull away.

"It's just you…" Usagi sniffled. "After all this time…"

"I know… " Ranma shook her head, plopping down onto Setsuna's soft bed. She motioned her daughter to sit next to her, patting the space next to her. "It's hard to explain... On one hand I got all these experiences as a guy and on the other, I'm a queen. Not just a queen, but a mother. Guys aren't supposed to be mothers…"

Ranma drift off into silent contemplation with the statement as Usagi found the spot next to the silver haired girl. She still could barely believe that this girl, nearly the same age and height as her was her mother. "But the memories…"

"Heh." Ranma sniffed with faint amusement. "After all the crap I've been through, it's pretty easy to explain away the weird stuff." Usagi looked at her curiously and Ranma elaborated. "Weird memories? Probably some Amazon hair care product. Think I'm a girl? Been knocked on the head once too often. Strange powers? Nothing a run-in with a half dragon prince won't put into perspective."

Usagi was staring at the girl next to her intently now. "Wow… And my life didn't start to get weird until I took on my Moon kingdom persona for the first time."

Ranma nodded. "And now it's like looking though two sets of eyes. One pair sees you as just this blonde girl and the other…" The silver-haired queen paused, her face taking on a look of concentration. "…and the other sees you as the… child I… I… love…"

Usagi watched the tension build into Ranma's frame then drain away as the last word was spoken, as if she were a balloon who had suddenly lost its air. Ranma couldn't even make eye contact with her and realization dawned on her.

"Was saying it that hard?"

Ranma nodded, still unable to bring herself to look at the girl as shame and love waged war within her psyche. Ranma Saotome, martial arts prodigy and manly man gave birth to a girl. _A beautiful, wonderful girl_, the counter point drifted through her brain. "Hard ain't the word. I've had this man among men stuff drilled into me all my life. My Mom. My Pop. Being the best was the sole focus of my life for so long… God, it feels like my brain is gonna explode."

Usagi nodded sympathetically. She was still aclimating herself to her role as future ruler of humanity, let alone enduring the shock of finding out she had _two_ mothers, and it was becoming a test of loyalties. Who was her mother? The birth-mother in this lifetime or this the one who only existed in the haze of memory? Still, if the girl before her born a boy could take that first step... Both sat in silence for a moment, a moment that was interrupted by arms snaking around Ranma in a warm embrace.

The silver-haired queen couldn't have been more surprised, looking into her daughter's bright blue eyes and warm smile. "Don't worry, Mom… I don't remember it all yet, but I remember enough to know you were always there for me, even after you left. I'll always be here for you too."

The pair sat gazing into the one another's soul for a moment longer before a single tear ran down Ranma's own cheek, causing her to pull the Princess of the Moon back into the embrace. Mother and daughter held one another for a small eternity, simply content that a large part of their lives had just been completed by the other. The feelings were still foreign to Ranma Saotome, but there was one thing for certain… If this was her child, she was going to do a better job than Genma had. By the time they pulled away from one another, both had damp faces and wet eyes.

"I should let you dress…" Usagi admitted with a warm smile. Ranma nodded and the blonde odango-atama turned to the door, opening it.

_THWa-Wump-Wump-wump-wump!_

With the twist of the knob, the door flew open and six bodies instantly piled at Usagi's feet. Mother and daughter blinked at the pile of groaning, tangled Senshi limbs.

"You were listening to us the entire time!" Usagi shrieked, eliciting weak smiles from the pile of teenage girls. Ranma herself was far from amused.

"Uh, heh… heh?"

Her gaze narrowed sharply on the tangled magical girls. "Looks like I might have to start training sooner than expected."

The Senshi paled. Any amusement born from eavesdropping on the queen and her daughter died a quick and painful death.

* * *

"Home!"

Kasumi Tendo paused her kitchenly duties momentarily and cocked her head, readily identifying the unseen female voice that had just stepped through the door. With it came a curious sound; that of many other feet and… wheezing? It was enough to cause the eldest Tendo to set the vegetable knife aside to poke her head out the kitchen doorway. What she found was quite fascinating.

"Oh my…"

Ranma looked from the blonde beside her, finding Kasumi peering out of the kitchen with wide eyes. It wasn't the overly feminine orange blouse that triggered the eldest's mental fallback, or even the fact that its style seemed to match the blonde in an almost eerie fashion. No, the "oh my" was born from the six sweating, bedraggled girls behind them, every one of which were gasping for breath save the slight girl with short black hair. Unlike the panting girls, she seemed to be enjoying herself immensely.

"Hey Kasumi… Don't suppose we could get some water, do ya?" Ranma asked with a light smile. The girl next to him nodded agreeably while those behind her continued to catch their breath. At least three were doubled over at the moment.

At least he appears to be in a better mood than last night, Kasumi noted and returned Ranma's smile. "Of course, Ranma-kun. Would your friends care for a snack?"

"No snacks." Ranma shook her head absently. "We're just here for a pit stop. Still got another five miles of running, ya know?"

"You said three!" The other blond protested between gasps and Ranma turned back to her.

"I lied." The silver-haired girl smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile.

"I take it all back, Usagi," Minako shook her head with a scowl plastered across her face. "You're mom's a meanie!"

The first blonde didn't even get a chance to rebuke the Senshi as Ranma cut in with that same, horrible smile. "Just for that, you get to carry Hotaru for the next leg."

The Senshi of Love's jaw dropped, but no further words came out. She didn't _dare_ say anything else. Makoto had been the last Hotaru-bearer, and she was bent over, drenched with sweat for the trespass of calling the Queen's daughter "meatball head". Truth be told, one excuse was as good as another for Ranma. They were _all_ going to get a chance to carry Saturn's guardian by the end of the run.

"Oh my, are these your magical girl friends from last night?" Kasumi asked, noticing what appeared to be friendly banter. That, and they looked awfully familiar.

Ranma thought on it for a moment as part of her mind churned thought the logic dilemma only a reincarnated gender cursed martial arts queen of an ancient empire would face. The guy was there kicking and screaming. He was a martial artist. He wasn't running around with a bunch of school girls, let alone people that could be called "girlfriends". They'd probably get in their thick skulls sooner or later that he was fiancé material or something, and what fun wouldn't that be? The other part was entrenched in the shadows of nearly a millennia's worth of memory. She had hand-picked these very girls to defend all that was just, and each and every one of them had given their lives to that cause. It was there, and for possibly the first time that her dual nature found a common ground. Even the male martial artist within her quieted with that revelation. Their honor and commitment was beyond question, both today and in the annals of history long forgotten. For once, the tug-o-war within her mind as Queen and martial artist came to an agreement.

"Yep, the same." Ranma let a fond smile flow across her face. "My best friends."

The coughing and wheezing behind her stopped for a moment as the Senshi stopped and stared. The tough, guarded girl they had only known for a couple of days seemed to melt in front of them and they couldn't help but to smile with her. It was even a pleasant surprise for Kasumi herself, who knew that the martial artists' list of true friends was a short one, indeed.

_Click._

Ranma's head swiveled on the familiar sound and the light smile vanished abruptly as she found Nabiki Tendo at the top of the stairway, camera in hand.

"The same friends as last night, eh Saotome?" The middle Tendo smiled. It was eerily similar to the smile Ranma had just given Minako only moments earlier. "The same friends who were, in fact, Sailor Senshi last night?" Usagi's eyes widened at the implication. "You just made me very rich, Ranma."

"You wouldn't." Even as the words left Ranma's lips, she mentally rolled her eyes. This was Nabiki she was talking about. _Of course_ she would.

"After all," Nabiki continued heedlessly. "Who wouldn't pay millions for the true identities of the Sailor Senshi?"

"That isn't very nice, sister." The Senshi turned from the stair-borne sister to the eldest one in front of them, looking at her with incredulity for what had to have been the understatement of the year. It didn't even faze Ranma. Had the girls behind him known Kasumi better, they would have realized that statement was the next best thing to a stern scolding.

It didn't faze Nabiki either. She simply shrugged. "Sorry sis, but this will set us up for life. No way can I be talked out of this one."

Ranma's gaze bore into the middle Tendo and she stared imperviously back. "You don't wanna do this, Nabs."

Now it was Nabiki's turn to be taken aback slightly. Was Ranma actually challenging her? He'd been acting weird all weekend, but this was _definitely_ out of the ordinairy. Not that it changed thing any. "Oh, I'm pretty sure I do, Saotome. It'll more than make up for that huge diamond you insist on keeping to yourself."

"You'll endanger their families, Nabs." Ranma countered. Had Nabiki's greed consumed slightly less of her attention, she might have identified the silver-haired girl's words as a warning. "It's a secret identity for a reason."

Nabiki simply smiled the smile of the unsympathetic. "They're magical girls Ranma. If it's really that big of a deal, have them hire body guards like other famous people."

The martial artist moved away from the girls and started up the stairs. "You don't wanna push me on this one."

As soon as her first step hit the stairwell, alarms began sounding inside the middle Tendo's brain. What the hell was he doing! He wasn't actually going to try to _force_ her to give up her evidence, was he? As if! With the amount of dirt she could bury him under, he'd be begging for her to stop. The number of fiancées she could send his way would make his _children_ weep. The smile on her face chilled as the staring match continued. No, he had no leverage. No power. This was just the initial Saotome bluster. Give him a few minutes to get it out of his system and he'd fold like always.

Ranma cleared the top step and was now staring up at Nabiki from her diminutive stature. Even through her confidence, the Tendo couldn't shake the feeling that something was _wrong_. "Last chance, Nabs."

"Pah-lease." Nabiki snorted. "What can you _possibly_ do to me, Saotome?"

A single finger came up from Ranma and she pressed it into her chest, near her heart. Nabiki blinked, and watched as the silver-haired girl turned away and back down the steps. "What? Was that it? Is that the best the big bad Ranma Saotome can do?"

Ranma paused halfway down the steps and cocked her head with a neutral expression on her face. "Pressure point, Nabs. I'll leave it to you to find out which one."

She continued down the stairs as stunning realization hit Nabiki like a sledge hammer. A pressure point? Ranma Saotome is extorting _me_? "Get back here right now and undo this, Saotome!"

"Or you'll do what?"

Nabiki lost all cool as Ranma called her bluff. "I'll…!"

"Release the secret identities of the Sailor Senshi?" Ranma arched an eyebrow, clearly unmoved by her anger.

"Not just that!" She retorted angrily, moving down the stairs to physically confront the martial artist. "I'll send so many fiancées your way you'll never be able to dig yourself out of the mess they create!"

By now, Kasumi's eyes had widened. She wasn't sure exactly what had precipitated Ranma's change in attitude as of late, but she knew the dynamic between her and Nabiki had changed radically. "Sister, I wouldn't…"

_Poke._

A single finger touched Nabiki at the left shoulder joint, stopping her anger cold with eyes wider than Kasumi's. "Guess what that one was."

The sister took a horrified step back, partially due to the fact that she had been on the receiving end of yet another pressure point, but more due to the fact that her negotiations had collapsed so completely… with Saotome, no less! He was just a martial arts… stud? Nabiki stared at Ranma with a critical eye and began to take in all the differences she should have noted earlier. This incarnation was still confident, but not to the point of arrogance. She was absolutely certain in position and superiority, and it wasn't ego. Given the situation, there was only one thing to do.

"We'll… We'll talk about this later, _Saotome!_" Ranma gave the girl a bored look as she quickly stomped back up the stairs from whence she came.

"Well that was… Interesting." Ami blinked as a door slammed upstairs.

"Um, Ranma…" Kasumi stepped forward with a bit of worry in her eyes. "Which… pressure points did you use on Nabiki?"

"The first one was Cat Tongue." Ranma said with a light grin and the eldest Tendo put a hand to her lips with a silent 'oh'. The words easily conjured memories of Ranma's own painful run-in with the pressure point.

"What's a 'cat tongue'?" Usagi asked, leaning toward Ranma.

"Pressure point." The martial artist supplied. "Makes any temperature of warm water excruciatingly hot."

"Ouch." Haruka replied with little sympathy.

"And the other?" Kasumi pressed, and Ranma simply shrugged.

"Just a poke to the shoulder." The smile widened. "No reason to pour it on too thick… yet."

Kasumi Tendo just nodded. "I see. Oh, water." The sister turned back to the kitchen, if only to avoid wandering any further down the path created by the changes in the silver-haired girl's personality. She disappeared through the door and all eyes turned back on Ranma.

"So why aren't you making Usagi carry Hotaru?" Rei asked, returning to the previous topic with just a hint of resentment.

"Mother-daughter bonding, of course." Michiru smiled knowingly, causing Ranma to roll her eyes.

"Don't worry, she gets Hotaru tomorrow." Their queen replied, causing Usagi to nearly choke.

"But MOM!"

Any objections the princess may have had were cut short as the door behind them clicked open, admitting a middle aged women in a finely decorated blue kimono that was offset by her chestnut red hair. The katana didn't go unnoticed by the girls.

"Speaking of mothers…" Ranma grumbled and the woman stopped short upon seeing the crowd of girls in the living room. It only took a moment of study to pick out her son from the group, a task made easier with the addition of silver hair.

"Your father and I were worried about you, son." Nodoka moved through the girls, embracing your son. "Well, at least I was. Genma couldn't stop going on about how ungrateful you were."

"Why am I not surprised?" Ranma deadpanned and Nodoka began to size up her child's appearance.

"And may I ask why you're wearing such feminine clothing?" Ranma's mother asked with a slight of warning in her voice. "While I can overlook the occasional trespass in your manly behavior because of your curse, you seem to be growing entirely too accustomed to that body."

The martial artist sighed. "Thought we went over this, Mom."

"Indeed," Nodoka admonished. "I thought it would be clear that if you are to perform your manly duties with your fiancée, you would need stop this foolishness." She paused, and her eyes gained an unnatural gleam to them. "And provide me with grandbabies, of course."

"Manly duties?" Minako asked as Ranma's face began to turn a healthy pink.

Haruka stared at the woman, then her queen. "She wouldn't mean…?"

"Unless all these girls are your mistresses." All speculation was cut off as eight magical girl heads swiveled on her simultaneously, mouths gaping.

Nodoka couldn't have known that she was about to annihilate the last remnants of Ranma's patience which Nabiki had steadily eroded only ten minutes earlier. Ranma Saotome could take many things from her mother, if only because she hadn't seen her in years and was desperate to rebuild that relationship. But on this particular topic, she was done. On top of having a gender curse, she was now having the mother of all identity crises. And speaking of mothers… An evil thought came to mind, a thought that would never have occurred to her without the help of her 14,000 year old self. Had anyone seen her mental smile, it would have made them shiver.

"So you want grandchildren, mother?" She asked sweetly and Nodoka regarded her son blandly. A pit began to develop in Usagi's stomach simultaneously.

"I am pretty sure I've mentioned it, son." The other Senshi began to back away from the Queen and her daughter, sensing the approaching storm.

"Well it just so happens you're in luck today." Ranma stated offhandedly, stopping his mother cold.

"I am?" She blinked. Several times, in fact. "You…?"

Ranma grinned. "I'd like you to meet your granddaughter, Usagi Tsukino-Saotome, my daughter and heir to the throne of the Silver Millennium."

Usagi produced a surprised, impromptu bow and Nodoka continued to blink for the next minute. Her stare continued to switch from Ranma to Usagi and back. Finally, a very perturbed look flowed across Nodoka's face.

"I'm not amused, Son."

"Imagine my reaction." Ranma whispered to herself, then back to his mother. "I'm serious."

"And you would expect me to believe that this girl is your blood?" The Saotome matriarch asked rhetorically. "If you are quite done with this foolishness, I must insist—"

"The eyes, Mom."

Nodoka stopped for the second time and looked the girl directly in the eyes. Not that those would do anything to convincer her that this blonde child could possibly be… Her thought process stopped cold as her eyes locked on the the girl's blue orbs, then snapped back to Ranma's. It was impossible, the mother rationalized! The genetic traits of her family were certainly rare ones, and Ranma's female form had certainly inherited the more extreme aspects of them, but blonde hair wasn't among them. But the eyes… Impossible as it was, she had stared lovingly into those eyes too many times _not_ to recognize them.

"But… No… She can't be…" Nodoka stammered, leaning into Usagi to scrutinize her further.

Ranma mustered the most matriarchal expression she could. "Sa-chan, say 'hello' to your grandmother."

Usagi twitched, but recovered quickly, throwing herself into a more formal bow than before. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Grandmother!" The hint of desperation in her voice pleased the silver-haired martial arts queen enormously. Ranma watched the duo stare at one another for another couple of minutes before nodding to herself with satisfaction.

"Okay girls, get your water. We're leaving in five." Ranma stated, turning back to the watching Senshi.

Ami looked from Ranma, then to the grandmother and grandchild. "Umm, what about Usagi?"

Saotome-Serenity merely produced a lopsided grin. "Trust me, she'll be more than occupied enough any moment now." As if on cue, Nodoka lunged at Usagi with huge smile and an unnatural gleam in her eyes.

_"Grand-daughter!"

* * *

_

Ranma Saotome-Serenity slowed her easy jog upon viewing the green-haired woman down the street in downtown Nerima, doing nothing more than waiting on the corner for her. Pluto's Senshi was clad in a somewhat relaxed dress with a deep 'V' that showed off her well defined curves. From a fiancée, her appearance might have made the new Queen slightly nervous, but this was Setsuna she was talking about. Her memory told her that she had been her best friend for damn near a millennium. Not only that, those same memories also told her she didn't mind the attention either. Set-chan had always been the 'look, but don't touch' sort. Those memories did little to quiet the male side, however. It was rather divided on the issue. Part of it wanted nothing to do with ogling at other women since such ogling could only lead to fiancée trouble, a well-abused topic in the martial artist's life. The other part of him couldn't help but to notice that Setsuna Meiou, Mistress of Time and Princess of Pluto was a fine specimen of woman hood.

All in all, it did nothing but serve to underscore just how screwed up her psyche was at the moment.

Setsuna Meiou greeted her best friend with a smile, then looked behind her curiously. "Um, where are the others?"

"Left Usagi back at the dojo with Mom and the others should be behind me in a minute or so. Ranma stated evenly, but it didn't prevent the Senshi from noting the frown.

"Problem with the family?"

"Nah." Ranma shook her head. "Just realizing what all this reincarnation crap is doing to my brain."

"Thankfully, I was spared--" The words dropped off Setsuna's lips as a group of teenage girls came jogging- or rather lurching around the corner, drenched in sweat while gasping for breath. She stared at the bedraggled group for a moment, then down at Ranma. "My, what a taskmaster you've become."

"Meh. I may not have a complete memory, but I know they trained harder than that." Ranma shrugged as the girls ground to a stop around the pair, panting and coughing up various organs.

Setsuna gave the dying teens another once-over (and shrugged mentally. Nearly ten kilometers from Juuban to Nerima without the benefits of their armor. Oh sure, the girls still had their innate mana taps to their respective planets and thus better than average endurance in their civilian forms, but apparently Ranma had burned through that buffer in the run. That, and she couldn't help but to notice Hotaru dismounting Minako. This made her smile as it reinforced her confidence that the silver-haired pig tailed girl was, in fact, her best friend. Having them carry Saturn all over the place was definitely the mischievous touch of Queen Serenity. She turned from the wheezing girls, back to her Queen the smile faded slightly. "Are you sure seeing the Amazon again is such a good idea?"

"Cologne ain't that bad." Ranma shrugged. "Sure, she's a manipulative ol' hag, but she ain't the sort to stab me in the back… If only because of how much she has invested in me."

Setsuna flipped a lock of green hair, considering her logic. "Perhaps, but I know her sort. She has an agenda."

"Oh, Cologne always has her own agenda," The silver-haired pigtailed girl snorted with dry amusement. "but I'm more worried about the rest of 'em back in China. Last thing I need is a dozen more 'obstacle is for killing!' girls looking to put a sword in my back..."

"Or marry you." Pluto's Senshi chuckled, causing Ranma to frown.

"Oh, laugh it up, Setsy." The perturbed reincarnated queen folded her arms. "Ya wouldn't be laughing if you knew."

Setsuna Meiou's smile faded with the words. "I do. Took about two days running through the highlights."

"When did you do…?"

"Remember when I disappeared the first time you visited the shrine?" Ranma nodded. "I took the opportunity to review your life through the Gates, then back-stepped two days. I know all about it." She didn't feel it necessary to add that it was all she could do _not_ to find a creative way to violently remove some of the more disturbing elements from her life during those two days. Ranma simply nodded, quietly keeping her peace on the subject. She'd learned to accept the chaos of her life a long time ago, but that didn't make the trip down memory lane any more pleasant. Seeing her best friend's pensive mood compelled Pluto to change the subject and turned back to the sweating girls.

"Go find an alley and transform. Should perk you right up." And provide the necessary show of force should Serenity's _friend _choose to contemplate other avenues of 'negotiation', she added silently.

"Welcome back… Ranma." The uncertain pause didn't go unnoticed by the martial artist as she, Setsuna and a full contingent of magical girls stepped into the vacant space of the Neko Han Ten. Not that she could honestly blame her, as she had gone from guy to girl to son in-law to queen of an intergalactic empire to potentially the most hated enemy the Amazons had ever known. She'd be confused. In fact, she was. The Amazon elder eyed the grouped with a mixture of caution and curiosity. The message in the magical girl escort was obvious, and she sincerely doubted it was son in-law's idea. The green-haired one, then, Cologne concluded silently. Ranma would have come alone, therefore the show of force was her recently acquired shadow's idea. And it was an effective one, all things considered. Sure, none of them could match her or her own in single combat, but there was something to be said for overwhelming numbers. At their power levels, they'd only have to get lucky once. Even without any direct indicator as to her skill level, that revelation alone made her one of the most dangerous people in the room. Cologne gave the slightest of nods to the Ranma's friend before continuing. "You are undoubtedly here to check on your… Handiwork?"

Handiwork was one way to put it, Ranma thought ruefully. After all, resurrecting somebody wasn't something she did everyday. Ranma looked from Cologne to Shampoo and Mousse who stood behind her. It had to be the first time that an expression of lust or hatred weren't found on the faces of either. Both radiated just as much curiosity as the old woman between them.

"Yeah, among other things."

Cologne nodded, then turned to the back of the restaurant. "Potion. Wax. Come."

The door to the kitchen opened and two Amazon females stepped out. Ranma was immediately hit with a wave of déjà-vu (you can probably ignore the accents if you like) as both were garbed in the familiar Chinese Amazonian silks, nor did it help that their current pastel shaded dress came from Shampoo's own wardrobe. Setsuna leaned in close as the two took their places to the right of Cologne.

"Careful," The Guardian of Time whispered. "One of them might just marry you."

Ranma cast an edgy glare at her friend before turning back to the Amazons. The first was nearly her height with teal hair that hung down her back, soft purplish eyes and an ample figure. The second was a full head taller with a wiry figure and complex coils of pale blonde braiding. A nervous glow danced in her grey eyes, amplified by the fact that they darted from one corner of the room to the other as if the shadows themselves held unseen threats.

"Potion, Wax… Your savior, Ranma Saotome." Both focused immediately on the silver-haired girl with the Elder's words, who held them in pregnant pause. "…Serenity."

The aforementioned martial artist simply rolled her eyes with the dramatic introduction that she herself had only scarcely accepted. The reactions were enlightening, however. Potion's eyes immediately widened and a sharp intake of breath accompanied her involuntarily step back. Wax stilled abruptly and her eyes stopped their nervous flicker, focusing on her to the exclusion of all else.

The stand-off dragged on for another moment before Ranma let loose an exasperated sigh. "I swear if I hear another Amazon scream 'I kill' I'll snap. I really will. And don't even _think _about sending any of those kisses my way."

The outburst was sufficiently unexpected enough to cause both Amazons to blink and turn to Cologne for an explanation, which she provided in the form of rapid fire Mandarin. Potion responded in kind, albeit a shorter verse of the pitched language. Cologne smiled, turning back to the silver-haired pigtailed girl. "She says you certainly don't sound like the Great Enemy."

Ranma 'hmmf'd and returned her attention to the Amazon contingent with a pleading look. "Please tell me this ain't gonna end in swords and kisses."

Amusement sparkled in Cologne's eyes, even if the expression never reached her face. "Not quite. The situation concerning Potion and Wax is rather… _precarious _at the moment."

"How is that?" Pluto reached for the question before Ranma could herself.

The Elder paused a moment, considering the source of the question. This woman really was Ranma's shadow. If she didn't know better, a second in command and close confidant by the way they interacted. More surprising was the fact that her former son in-law accepted her company in kind, forcing herself to accept the green-haired woman as if she were talking to Ranma directly… As well as making it increasingly more difficult to refute the fact that the boy she had known for the last two years was indeed The Serenity… Which in turn would make the following explanation all the more difficult.

"Potion and Wax are effectively dead to the Amazon nation," Cologne began, gesturing to the pair. "as they were both ascended by the hand of Beryl."

"I ain't liking where this is going…" Ranma murmured, already jumping ahead to the next logical conclusion. That conclusion was now backed by partial memories of just who Beryl was… And what ultimately became of her.

"Indeed." Cologne nodded gravely. "They are dead and you, The Serenity, have brought them back to this plane of existence. The two events do not sit well in one another's company."

"You would think they would be grateful." Sailor Neptune commented off hand, causing Cologne to frown.

"Unfortunately, one cannot take the casting out and subsequent damnation of our own so lightly." The second oldest woman in the room finished.

"Damnation?" Mercury stiffened. "Why would they be…?"

"Serenity." Pluto deduced easily. "Apparently, being resurrected by the Amazon's greatest enemy is not a desirable thing."

"Indeed." Cologne concluded, her point successfully communicated.

Ranma shook her head. "Come on! When was the last time I summoned a demon? They annoy me and kidnap Akane, and I sure as hell don't call 'em to do _that_."

Cologne favored Ranma with a piercing stare for a moment before conceding the point. "It would also require intimate knowledge of our people and society. Regardless, it leaves me with a difficult decision."

"Such as how to deal with tribal sisters that are technically personae non grata in the eyes of Amazon law," Setsuna pointed out. "Doubly so when they're considered conjured demons via your worst enemy."

_Dangerous, dangerous, dangerous!_ Cologne's mind sang as Setsuna distilled the entire meeting down to one thought. And she was sure that her skill easily matched that knife-like intellect of hers. The Elder looked from Potion to Wax, then hung her head. Her staff tipped slightly in her grip and her weary demeanor all but indicated they had arrived at the crux of the matter.

"It is such." The matriarch admitted, well aware of the thin ice she was transversing between tribal law and the future of her people. There really was only one choice left to her if she was not to slay Ranma here and now, and it basically amounted to treason of the highest order. It involved betraying the Goddess of Amazononian legend. A goddess she had sent a child to... And possibly sent to her doom if what Ranma and her friend was saying were true. If she were to commit to her next words, the name 'Cologne' could very well go down in Amazon history as one of the worst traitors to ever walk the Earth. She had to know. Had to know for certain… She needed_ something_ if she was to save her people!The old woman took a deep breath and committed herself fully. "By decree of the Council of Elders, the avatars of Potion and Wax shall hereby be put to death. May Beryl have mercy on their eternal souls."

"WHAT?"

"Are you insane!"

"The Queen just brought them back to life and you're going to kill them!"

"Not a chance!"

"You can't just kill them!"

The outrage was complete and the only ones left standing still among the gathering of magical girls was Ranma and Pluto, both locked in a staring contest with Cologne. Wax and Potion stiffened, but otherwise remain unnaturally calm, as if they had expected the outcome. The Ghoul might have even informed them of it ahead of time, had Ranma the time to speculate on the possibility.

"Shampoo, my spear." Cologne's never left the two women in front of her and Shampoo remained frozen in place for only a fraction of a moment before ducking behind the counter to retrieve the spear. She traded it off for her Great Grandmother's cane and Cologne brought it down, examining it's now jeweless tip. "This spear has slain five demons of the Rite. It will now slay two more."

The increasing teen outrage was suddenly cut off as a wave of pure white light flooded the room, blinding the occupants momentarily. When their eyes adjusted, they found Ranma Saotome glowing with power and her borrowed clothing leeched of color. The only thing neither silver or white beyond skin was her eyes, which radiate a pure, crystal blue. Those blue orbs now focused sharply on the Amazon Matriarch.

_"No."_

Cologne did her best not to take an involuntary step back as power wafted around her like a blanket. "The Serenity, I presume?"

The glowing martial arts intergalactic queen cocked her head as if considering the question. "Some days more than others."

"The enemy of the Amazons?" Cologne pressed.

"Only if you make me one." Ranma replied impatiently. "Ain't gonna let you cut them, Ghoul. I don't think you will, but I'm only now getting' to realize just how screwed up the Amazons really are. Can't take the chance."

"Why?"

"It's a senseless death." Ranma explained, allowing a bright ball of light to coalesce in her hand absently. It gathered to the size of a softball and floated there lazily. "Honorless, even. They ain't demons and I ain't the monster you think I am. Death by stupidity is the worst, and I won't let you use me as an excuse to do it."

Even as Cologne wondered at the destructive potential contained with in the seemingly harmless ball of light, the green-haired second in command on her left flank stretched out an arm. A pink flash filtered through the room and her hand now held a heart tipped stave, its glowing red gem pulsing angrily with power.

"I was hoping the show of force would help you contemplate other avenues of negotiation." Sailor Pluto frowned; bringing the staff parallel across her body. "But when it comes right down to it, the Queen and I can clear this room without breaking a sweat."

Behind her, the Matriarch watched as a glowing sword was being drawn and an exotic pole arm flash into existence. She was right. Cologne could vouch for son in-law ability on the spot, and it didn't take much imagination to realize her Second's deadly potential. There was no doubt that the woman was a seasoned combat veteran. The remaining girls were simply overkill after that. She let her shoulders slump and tipped the spear away from her Amazon sisters, mentally exhausted. So the die has been cast…

"You are correct… Serenity." She watched Ranma's teeth grind with faint amusement as she used the title. "I would not slay my own tribeswomen outright without being sure, and the only thing that I _am_ sure of at the moment is that you are not the monster of legend."

"Duh." Ranma remarked dryly and the aura around her diminished slightly. Her escort took it as a cue to back down slightly. "Next time you see me summon a demon, you let me know."

"Regardless," Cologne pressed forward. "It does not change the fact that Potion and Wax's lives are forfeit in the eyes of the Council." She paused once again, contemplating not only the fate of the newly reborn women, but herself, her great granddaughter and the entire Amazon nation. _Step carefully…_

"Potion and Wax." The pair of Amazon's came to attention as the Amazonian Elder addressed them. "In your time you were Amazon elite, ascended to the heavens by Beryl herself to serve, a task at which you have obviously _failed._ You have been cast out by our goddess and in your fall, allied your souls with the most ancient and dire of evils."

_What are you playing at, Cologne?_ The shadows of Ranma's millennia year old persona asked as she watched the scene play out before her. It was a sentiment Ranma's present day psyche shared, but that part of her would have never seen through the Old Ghoul's performance so effectively. She was up to something, something beyond the condemnation of two resurrected warriors. The warriors in question stood at ridged attention, accepting their trial as if everything their Elder said was not only true, but a given. To them it is, Ranma reasoned internally. Last they knew, they were Beryl's chosen. Now they're here facing the keeper of Amazon hell… _Me_. There really could only be one explanation. But Setsy's right, she reminded herself. Cologne _always_ has an agenda, especially in anything concerning me.

For once she was actually looking forward to seeing one of her schemes come to fruition.

"As you are now damned and allies of The Serenity, we refute your existence." Cologne's gaze narrowed menacingly on the women. "No Amazon shall ever speak your name henceforth and we shall remove them from the Watcher's Archive. Such is the fate of traitors to our Goddess." She paused, then framed Ranma with the same steely eyes. "Take your infernal minions and leave us, Serenity. Others more suited than I shall be forthcoming to deal with you… In the _very_ near future."

Ranma cocked her head as the Old Crone's words clicked into place. She considered the diminutive spear wielding Elder carefully before consenting with a single nod, then turned to speak over her shoulder. "Girls, we're gone. Wax, Potion you're mine now. Let's go."

The Inners watched with slight surprise as the two Amazons snapped from their frozen stance, falling in behind their queen without a word. The Outers gave them a wary look, their response only checked by a look from Pluto herself. Without another word, seven magical girls, two newly resurrected Amazons, one Guardian of Time and a reincarnated martial arts queen of a long dead empire left the Neko Han Ten.

* * *

Half a world away, another diminutive Joketsuzoku Elder draped in crimson stood in the middle of a rainforest nestled in the valley of the Bayankala mountain range, staring at a outcropping of weathered, monolithic stones with no small trepidation. These were the Grounds of the Rite, the very doorway by which the Goddess Beryl ascended the worthy. Like all Amazons her age, she had been here before, but was passed over. Perhaps she wasn't needed at that time. Perhaps she lacked a certain quality. But regardless, she was here now and the need was great. Behind her stood her contemporaries, the Council of Elders. Close enough to witness the event, but far enough away to avoid any _unplesantries_ should she fail.

She was nearly two centuries old, yet that age and experience did not stop her breath from trembling as she cross the first line of vine covered stones. The last time she had done so over 150 years ago had spawned a hellish demon to judge, and if necessary, dispose of her by violent means. Thick gray clouds rolled across the sky as if they were another foreboding portent of things to come, and she stepped past the giant markers. Hard magic immediately flowed around her and the sound of buckling earth reached her ears for the second time in her lifetime. She didn't even need to turn around to know that there was a demon crawling out of the ground behind her as she progressed toward the center warding stone. There would only be a few precious moments to herself before the monster was on her.

"Goddess Beryl! I humbly ask of your presence!"

_"ROOOWWWoooOWWWRL!"_

The gray-haired elder swung around as the beasts torso cleared the crumbling earth. There was no doubt now as to its rage was fixed on. She turned away from its flaming beady eyes and turned her attention back on the three foot stone in front of her. "It is a matter of life and death for the Amazon nation! Please, I must speak to you!"

The growling continued and the monster cleared the trench, drawing to it's full thirteen foot height. The Matriarch didn't even bother to look at it. She had seen one before; Reddish pink, skin stretched across jutting bones, no hair and vaguely female. The scythe claws and massive fangs did nothing to endear it to it's visitors. It only took a few lumbering steps to bring the monster within effective striking distance, and the old woman simply closed her eyes, screaming, "The Serenity has come, Beryl! We require your divine guidance to purge it from out realm!"

The growling at her back stopped abruptly, and she hazarded a look over her shoulder to find the demon complete frozen, claws outstretched only inches from her back. She sucked in an involuntary breath and turned back to the stones, only to find the ghostly image of her goddess floating over her like a displeased, red-headed apparition. The shock elicited a gasp and she quickly found the ground with subservient groveling.

_"Your Eminence!"_

"The Serenity has come?" The apparition asked without emotion.

The Elder dared not raise her eyes. "It has, My Goddess."

"You have done well." The redhead nodded, her eyes studying the Elder before her. " The day has come. You and yours shall be my chosen implements of her destruction." Now the Elder's head couldn't help but to snap up in awe. The entire tribe had been found worthy under her leadership? The honor! "Take these implements of power and bring her head to me."

A ghostly arm motioned to the stones around her, all of which seemed to promptly sink into the ground over the next minute. In their place rose obsidian black pedestals, each with three daggers resting upon them. A quick glance told the elder there had to be at least fifty total, if not more.

"Give them to your best warriors and victory will be assured." The translucent goddess continued with an evil smile. "Now go."

With that final command, the divine visage fade out along with the youma at her back, leaving the Elder alone at the center of ring of pedestals. She slowly rose to her four foot height and stared at each on in complete awe. She had just been given a commandment by the goddess herself and vested with supreme authority over the Amazon Nation toward that end. She walked over to a pedestal in her daze and picked up one of the curved jeweled daggers gently. She could feel the power coursing through it!

_Yes…_ she thought with a mental smile as evil as the one her goddess had favored her with._ It is high time we crushed the Serenity once and for all, with blood and woe to all those who stands against us…

* * *

_

"Chinese _Amazons?"_ Usagi stared at her reincarnated mother in disbelief, then over to the Amazons in question. While she would normally be inclined to disbelieve such a tale as a children's bedtime story, the evidence spoke for itself. Or rather didn't speak for itself. The Amazon's had yet to say anything to anybody since Ranma's acquisition of them, though they did tend to follow her like puppies… armed, lethal and incredibly cute puppies decked out in pastel silks that left plenty of room for hand to hand combat mobility. "But what are you going to _do_ with them?"

It was a good question, Ranma thought as she divided her attention between the Amazons in question and her daughter. Part of her psyche cringed at the word, as if it were still a forbidden topic best not discussed in the realms of manhood anywhere, but that part was steadily loosing ground. At least thinking about the blonde next to her as a daughter didn't produce a nervous tick anymore… Visibly, at least. She had found a temporary answer to that question and for the moment, set her two lethal demonic Amazon minions to the kitchen…

…helping Kasumi prepare for dinner.

"For that matter, why did she even give them to you in the first place?" Usagi continued, taking her eyes off the Amazons in the house to find the remaining Senshi. Her mother had since paired them off for sparring practice in the dojo courtyard, with Setsuna and Haruka directing the action.

"The Old Ghoul is up to something." Ranma Saotome-Serenity rose from her cross legged sitting position gracefully. Even though her power had faded from the visible spectrum, her clothing was still a pure white, as if the very act of loosing so much power ate the dye straight from the fabric itself. "Somethin's happening back in China and it's something she ain't too happy about. Could have been a slip of the tongue, but I doubt it. She don't make mistakes like that. They're coming, and when they do…" The martial artist lapsed into silence, marked by a slight frown. She snapped out of it nearly as quickly as it was manifest. "Setsy! Need ya over her!"

Setsuna motioned for Makoto to take over the basic combat instruction and broke from the group, walking easily over to Ranma with a light smile. "Your Highness?"

"Amazons are coming. Lots of 'em." Ranma stated with certainty. "What's left of the Moon?"

The Mistress of Time's smile widened. "I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

**Author's Notes;**  
_Trying to manage the balance between fun, seriousness and sap the best I can while weaving an intricate plot. You already know I normally have my ending mapped out before the first chapter is complete, so you can expect this winding road is going somewhere. Hope you're enjoying the ride so far._

Usagi's Wardrobe; _We had a discussion at length as to whose clothing would fit Ranma best, and it was a tossup. Generally, Usagi has the right frame, but not the curves. There was a lot of ambiguity here, so I took a bit of license her in saying yeah, it would work. Maybe tight in some areas, ahem._

Timeline errors; _I believe in a previous part I mention that the fall of the Silver Millenium was 2-3000 years ago. This is incorrect. I think I mixed up timelines with tBoT because I'm scripting this one as fallen nearly 14,000 years ago. Recovering from an intergalactic war just doesn't happen over night._

_Thanks again to the Fukufics crew and my online database, **Delta-Theta**._

_Special thanks to my Pt6 Editor, **Quizer**, who has infinitely more patience than I in technical editing and grammar than I do. This part is probably my most technically correct piece to date because of his efforts._


	7. Chapter 7

**Heir to the Empire**

By:_ Ozzallos_  
Editing:_ Quizer  
Fire Support: Fukufics(dotcom)_

**Chapter 7**

"_**I**t was the most glorious day of my life. Imagine it! The dream of every Amazon warrior! I remember it so clearly… My jian literally dripped with its magical essence as I called out for my goddess. I had proven myself worthy and sought to claim my right._

_She answered, and I knew hell._

_At first, I thought she had forsaken me. The pit of shifting blackness I had been sentenced to seemed lifeless at first, but it wasn't. Shadow beasts prowled around me, their ethereal forms stalking around me as if I were prey; their next meal. I was, of course, weaponless but for my hands, and I began to entertain the idea that this was yet another test. _

_So I fought._

_I fought an innumerable number of the wraith, yet they kept coming. Sometimes singular, sometimes in packs. It was as if they were all vying to be the one to take me down, and often fought amongst themselves for the privilege as I continued to fend off their brethren. After so many battles I realized my own form was entirely spirit, and as long as I could maintain that, I could not be defeated… But there were hundreds of battles. Maybe thousands. They could not wound my body, but my belief faltered. This was no test. I had been damned. Cast down. I was in hell itself, the promise of my goddess nothing more than a hollow dream. Would I be forgiven? Would I ever be free? These questions flickered only briefly within my soul as the shadows claimed me, devouring my spirit to fuel theirs. My suffering gave them sustenance, enabling them to manifest into the physical realm under the command of the goddess herself. At first I was hopeful. Perhaps my sacrifice would endear me to her service._

_I was a fool._

_Oh, we waged war against her adversaries… Or rather the shadow constructs did so as they dragged my soul behind them. Given physical form, they not only waged war against the sisters of Serenity, but engaged in acts no Amazon would dare to contemplate. They slaughtered warriors and children alike in an effort to further their master's cause, and I was forced to bear witness to it all. To participate in those vile acts. This was my goddess. The progenitor of our people. I was disgusted. Ashamed. My only salvation laid in the fact that regardless of their numbers, her demonic army suffered from a total lack of skill. Power, they had in abundance, but whatever skill they gained from their Amazonian core was meager at best. My spirit would have expired long ago if not for the sheer pleasure I gained from watching Beryl's army suffer defeat after defeat. Even my own host was badly damaged in one such operation, forcing its essence back to the void to regenerate or die._

_And there I remained until the next trial. The shadows took me once more to face a fellow Amazon. I despaired until she loosed the killing blow upon my demonic captor… Then nothing. Reality stopped. Until today… Now I have been summoned from hell by the Amazon's greatest enemy and cast out because for it. I have lost everything I know to the annals of time, yet one thing remains…_

_If you are the Amazonian hell of ages, then perhaps it is time for that age to end. I have seen the alternative, and it continues to claim my sisters and people, subjecting them to endless torment until their will dies or their spirit is broken. I survived out of sheer spite; the desire to see Beryl fail time after time. Few were this lucky, this I know, and now there is only one thing left for me--_

_I am yours to command in all things, My Queen._"

The Senshi stared on as Wax's tale came to an end, and with it, Setsuna's translation of her native mandarin. The women in the center of their circle had been led to believe that Beryl's cause was righteous, only to be sold into eternal damnation at her hands. Wax had suffered nearly four and a half centuries of that torment, yet had somehow endured… slightly worse for the wear. It was all she could do to remain focused and not focus on the shadows in the corners of the dojo where unseen enemies undoubtedly awaited to claim her once more. Each flick of the traumatized Amazon's eyes stabbed at her heart, and Ranma couldn't help but to feel sympathy. Four and a half centuries of torture made her messed up life look like a goddamn walk in the park. In that moment, two parts of Ranma came to an agreement. Her status as queen in this lifetime may have been up for debate, but her character both then and now was not.

The silver haired pigtailed girl rode from her sitting position and stepped into the center of the dojo and up to the kneeling Amazon, who still couldn't bring her gray eyes to meet her audience. Ranma took her chin gently and lifted her face up. A subtle glow began to radiate from the martial artist, its intensity growing until the shadows were banished from every corner of the dojo. Wax's eyes widened to incredulity.

"I won't let the darkness take ya again."

Setsuna looked upon the pair and smiled softly. There wasn't any need to translate her best friend's words into mandarin, as she could tell Wax had understood every word through action alone. The shadows were gone and indeed, this woman was taking it upon herself to banish them for her. Ranma turned to Potion next to her sister Amazon and found her staring in similar amazement. While Potion had endured the same treatment for an estimated fifty years, the effects was more like a horrible dream than Wax's reality. It also helped that she never saw that her host activated. She too took to one knee in subservience and Ranma gave her a simple nod before turning back to Setsuna and the remaining Senshi.

"I think I know what Cologne's doing." She began, motioning back to the Amazon warriors. "Regardless of what really happened to 'em, their lives are forfeit to the tribe. If they're coming like I think they are, they'll kill 'em on sight."

"And if your Amazon friend keeps them…" The green haired Senshi of time concluded grimly.

"She might as well slit their throats herself." Ranma nodded. "Don't matter what she thinks at this point. Somethin's happened back there and her word just isn't carrying the same weight. They find Potion and Wax with her, it's a death sentence."

"So… Why the big production?" Ami asked curiously. "She seemed pretty intent on ex-communication."

"Like I said, she always playin' the angles." The martial artist explained. "This way, I figure she can at least claim to have followed orders when they arrived. I took my demons and ran, Cologne satisfies their suspicions and positions herself to retake power if we don't kick their asses."

"Which we will." Setsuna stated off-handedly.

Ranma smiled. "Oh yeah. I'm more worried about collateral damage than anything else, because you can be sure Beryl didn't leave 'em empty handed."

Usagi cocked her head as she wondered at the turn of events that seemed to be spiraling closer and closer to a violent conclusion. "But how do you know all this? I mean this Cologne woman could just be really, really sneaky."

"Because that what I would do If I…" Ranma smile faded as two lifetimes intermingled. No, that's not what the Ranma of today would do, but politics was Queen Serenity's bread and butter. Pre-reincarnation Ranma would have never seen this scheme coming. Oh, she would have suspected that the Old Ghoul was up to something, but that wasn't a hard leap to make. She always was, after all. But to her in the here and now, the plan was crystal clear. "Uh, anyway, she's banking on us not only protecting the girls here, but weakening her opposition so that she can seize power, I'm guessin'."

"Fine by me." Haruka growled, cracking her knuckles. "Any friend of Beryl needs a swift kick in the ass. All she would have had to do was ask."

"Which is why we'll be making a visit to the moon." Setsuna took over, sensing her best friend had some memories to reconcile. "If Beryl has left some surprises behind, we'll want to take them out fast and hard. That means an upgrade in firepower if we can find something that wasn't atomized during the Fall of the Moon."

Michiru brushed a sea green curl out of her face and raised a hand politely. "If I may, why didn't we do this earlier?"

"Fair question." Setsuna nodded. "Anything that's still intact is going to be buried and buried _deep_. That means sealed labs, special armories and access codes."

"Okay, obvious question..." Minako leaned forward. "Don't _you_ have the access codes? I mean, you're her best friend, right?"

"Dual lock-out." The Mistress of Time returned. "Much of the hardware inside the vaults are so lethal that it requires two Senshi or better to access them."

"And since we don't remember the codes..." Ami realized, earning a nod from Setsuna while leaving the other Senshi to wonder just exactly what was so lethal that it had to be locked up in an underground vault requiring two of them to open. Ranma, on the other hand, knew exactly what her friend was talking about, and if her memories were right, had herself insisted upon the matter after a particular incident. The martial artist's stomach began to churn even as one particular incident came to mind. She had been engaged... To marry…

Even as the emotions began to come to a head, reprieve was found as the door to the dojo burst open, admitting one balding martial artist and another skinnier mustachioed one. For once, she was thankful for the interruption, even though the content of their inevitable bluster was beyond doubt.

"I told you he was still a girl, Tendo!" Ranma looked from his father to prospective father with slight dismay. Still, the distraction they provided from the shadows of a previous lifetime was a welcome one at the moment. Soun Tendo sent an admonishing head shake her way, prompting her to roll her eyes. "Boy! You will get some hot water and stop encouraging these girls to be your fiancées at once!"

Ranma closed her eyes, shutting out the pair in a desperate need to find her center. Her life was being pulled in too many directions at once and even though they provided a distraction from the memories, they were doing nothing more than throwing gasoline on the identity tug-o-war raging in her head. This life still had just as many obligations as the last, obligations that weren't hers and were all but impossible to fulfill. She turned her attention back to the parents without ever moving or even opening her eyes.

"I thought we went over this last night?" Her voice was dead calm and had the Patriarchs been paying closer attention, would have noted that Ranma's voice was_ never_ dead calm. Setsuna noticed it and quietly began to usher the remaining Senshi back. While she didn't know Ranma intimately, she _did_ know Serenity like a sister. The glow that persisted around the martial artist queen continued wavered with intensity as if something were fighting for control inside of her. Yes, the Mistress of Time knew her best friend and knew that couldn't _possibly_ be a good thing.

As for herself, Ranma could even feel the queen aspect of her psyche pushing the martial artist into action, its patience worn all too thin by their incessant prodding. _That_ part of her didn't see these men as a father or prospective father in-law. They were nuisances to that 14,000 year old persona, ones that manipulated other people to their own selfish end. Too many of those types had contributed to the collapse of her kingdom and it was all she could do to hold that part of her at bay. "I'd leave if I were yas… Before I do something I might regret."

"Don't back talk to me, Boy!" Each word that fell from her father's mouth pushed her Serenity aspect closer to the edge. It was either find a common ground between the part that knew this was her father or… _unleash_. "The schools can't be joined with you running around as a girl with your new _girlfriends_."

The calculated sneer in his voice caused Serenity to gain the measure of Ranma and the light that had maintained a steady illumination of the room began to soar to incandescent levels. So focused was she on maintaining control that she didn't even notice as Setsuna rattled off a swift sentence in mandarin. The reaction was instantaneous and overwhelming.

_"HHHAIiiiiiiiiYAAAAHH!"_

Two lithe Amazon's launched themselves into the parents with primal ferocity, forcing both men to break off their goading of Ranma in deference to saving their own skins as they quickly found themselves parrying blow after blow of Amazon wu-shu origin. The pigtailed queen's rage stalled abruptly as she watched Wax and Potion lay into the wayward father figures, who were now practically running for their very lives. _Well that was… convenient._

"I don't know what I paid ya back then, Set-chan, but it obviously wasn't enough." Ranma commented back over her shoulder, finding Setsuna with a long grin across her face. That had pleased both past and present Ranma entirely too much. As much as she was inclined to go outside and watch the ass-kicking take place, she had more pressing matters to attend to. She gave another wistful glance to the doorway of their departure and sighed as a series of ki-born flashes illuminated the twilight beyond. Dammit, she SO wanted to watch. Ah well. "Whattdya tell 'em, anyway?"

"Just that the males were trying to marry you, the queen of an empire, off." Setsuna stated in an off hand manner and watch Ranma's smile mirror her own. It was about time Amazon culture worked to her advantage.

"That was evil. I approve." Ranma Saotome-Serenity nodded, then put a finger to her lip. "Um, where were we, again?"

Usagi shuffled forward with a pensive look on her face, gaining her mother's undivided attention. "I, um… Have something to ask…." Ranma merely cocked her head, listening. "About Mamoru… you weren't… serious… were you?"

Dammit, Ranma scolded herself and the delay action memories that were plaguing her existence as of late. She still wanted to slap some sense into the girl for choosing a rose throwing pansy, but that thought was immediately accompanied by the flash of his last act of the Silver Millennium; charging a possessed Beryl with the blur of his vibro-sword and falling by her hand.

"I… yeah, I was, but I remember more now…" Ranma replied softly. That memory triggered a cascade of them, and she realized in that moment, the boy she had scorned was her daughter's own _fiancé_. Damn, damn, _damn_. She took a deep breath and made her decision. "He's yours if you want him."

Moon's eyes shown brightly with the verdict, and she lurched forward. "Thank you, Mo--!"

"But." Usagi froze a scant few inches from enveloping her reincarnated mother in a hug with the word. She waited there, perilously balanced as the pigtailed martial arts queen listed the conditional. "If he so much as throws another rose, he's gone. I said it before and I'll say it again. Won't be havin' my daughter marry a Kuno."

"We can get him a proper weapon when we raid the moon armories." Setsuna commented from her side. "Besides, it's best to let them get together, since certain outcomes hinge on it."

"Outcomes?" The Saotome once again gained the feeling that she was wandering out of her conversational depth.

"Like Crystal Tokyo." Michiru inserted from behind Setsuna, who visibly winced.

"Crystal Tokyo?" Ranma blinked cluelessly, and her best friend's face began to take on a pained expression.

"Yeah, about that…"

Something about her expression triggered another memory in Ranma's brain and she played the instinct that came with it. "Girls, clear the room. Go play with the Amazons or somethin'."

"Mom?" Usagi wondered and Ranma nodded at her.

"You too, Sa-chan."

The blonde hesitated a moment longer, watching her mother and Setsuna stare at one another before filing out with the other Senshi. Once she heard the click of the door, Ranma began. "Alright, Set-chan. I know that look. Don't know how, but I do. Spill it."

Setsuna let loose a depressed sigh and leaned against the nearest wall. "The fall of the Silver Millennium left everything in shambles. Without the ability to back-step through the Timegates, all I could do was gather information. What was done, was done." Ranma nodded and she continued. "You have to understand that she must have set up a sacrifice network on nearly every planet of the Empire to summon a force that massive. You may have killed Beryl, but that didn't stop her demon force from sweeping outward beyond our borders. Everybody around us took it on the chin before their anchor to this plane faded entirely. That lasted nearly two hundred years."

"_Damn_ her…" Ranma growled. She had been too soft with Beryl. _Far_ too soft. Even today, she wasn't the type to kill on a whim, but hindsight was twenty-twenty. Given the same opportunity over again…

"There was nothing left." Setsuna resumed the tale. "I watched as you sent the girls forward and did the only thing I could; prep the timeline for their arrival in the here and now."

"But?"

"But the devil's in the details, and there were a lot of devils." The Mistress of Time shook her head. "The biggest of which was Crystal Tokyo. A little more than a decade from now a giant asteroid will graze Earth, a piece of Nemesis. Call it the last act of an enemy named Wiseman."

Ranma's eyes widened as she absorbed the information. Nemesis sounded vaguely familiar. Either way, it was pretty hardcore to blow up your own planet as your last act of vengeance. "So this thing is gonna hit Earth?"

"No." Her best friend confirmed. "It'll come to about fifteen miles at its closest approach, its energy evaporating half the Pacific Ocean and the icecaps. The initial loss of life will be devastating, of course."

"Of course…" Ranma mouthed, absolutely stunned at the news.

"From there, Earth's ecosystem goes terminal. The evaporation and fallout will block out the atmosphere, sending the planet spiraling into a post-apocalyptic winter. Odds favor the total extinction of mankind by 2052."

Ranma's feet gave way with the final blow, and she sank to her knees as the complete failure of her rule was bulleted with point by point precision. "The girls…. Weren't enough?"

Setsuna knelt by her best friend in life, wrapping her in an embrace. "They will be. Are, but just barely. But even then, I had to shed some morals to ensure their survival."

The sorrow in her words brought Ranma back from her pit of self loathing as she focused on her friend's pain. "I mean, forget about everything I had to do to history in order to make this a nominal timeline. Hell, the wars I instigated and the occasional assassination don't even compare to what I ultimately will have to do…"

Ranma hung on every word. "What did… _will_ you do?"

"I have to pull the asteroid in _tighter_." She frowned, and a tear began to well up in her eyes. "Saturn wouldn't be able to destroy it. Chaos magic at its core would react with her Death Reborn and annihilate half the solar system. Moon couldn't do it. She was too inexperienced and lacked the absolute power you have. But she could nudge it."

"Nudge it?"

"Not far enough out to matter, mind you." She wiped away the wetness threatening to break from her shining eyes. "But if I had her move it in _closer_, the pass would only last hours instead of days. Mankind would survive, but the initial event was much more violent." Ranma held her silence and her best friend continued, her voice almost devoid of emotion now. "Moon wouldn't do it on her own when the time came, of course. Instead of dying a slow, freezing death, I was killing ninety-nine percent of the population in the space of three hours. Couldn't tell her that. Lucky for me the girl didn't know a thing about astronomy and was pretty weak in physics too. I would just point the spot I wanted her to unload on and she'd do it 'for love and justice.'"

"And that's the secret of Crystal Tokyo, built on lies and mass murder." Ranma simply sat there with her mouth open as Setsuna refused to make eye contact. Her entire form slumped, as if the very telling had drained the green haired Senshi of life. "You'd be well within your rights to execute me right here and now. Heck, I wouldn't even try to stop you, your Highness. I don't want to become that woman, but I've seen the timeline. My only choice other than to let humanity die is to become a monster. Not simply that, but force your _daughter_ to become one as well." A small, dead laugh escaped her lips. "Hell, she'll force her own daughter to remain a child so she won't have to grow up through the holocaust. How screwed up is that?"

Ranma stood up, stroking her silver pigtail with apprehension. This was her best friend from an age long forgotten. What did she say to her? What do you say to a person willing to sacrifice a few billion people? Did the ends really justify the means? _Apparently they do_. A portion of her conscious reminded her. Surprisingly it wasn't from the aspect that had wielded the power of star fleets and destroyed entire worlds. The words came from the lowly martial artist as it recalled her battle with Saffron. That same person had been willing to sacrifice the lives of an entire race for a group of friends. She knew from experience in both lifetimes that there was only one person to judge her and that person would be hardest of all on time's Senshi…

_Setsuna herself._

"Set-chan, get up." She ordered softly, and red eyes rose to meet her own. Still the woman didn't stand. "Look, you ain't the one that screwed up. I did. If memory serves, I forced you into an impossible situation by ordering you to the gates at the last moment. You're just cleaning up my messes, as usual."

"But I…"

''Cides, while I ain't the most conversant on time travel and all, none of this has happened yet, right?" Ranma cut her off. "And I sure as hell won't _let_ it happen. Maybe we'll have to dig a big freakin' gun out of the moon… Beats the hell out of me, but I won't let my best friend sacrifice her soul because of my screw up."

Setsuna slowly rose to her feet, staring at the girl. It was the first time in nearly 14,000 years she had anybody to share the burden of the future with but herself and she latched on to the offer as if it was a life preserver. For the second time since their meeting Setsuna plowed into her sister like a freight train, tears unleashed.

**/o/o/o****/o/o/o****/o/o/o/**

Ryoga Hibiki stared at the wavering ghost in front of him, waving a hand through her as she continued telling tale of woe. The initial shock of her magically appearing in front of him was lessened as she told her sorrowful tale to an audience of one. Nor did the beautiful silver-haired ghost seemed to realize he was even there, and didn't seem to take notice as he waved a hand through her head. As far as the Lost Boy could tell, she was talking about the fall of some great empire. After another minute of narration - most of which went over his head - she closed her eyes and faded from existence, leaving him alone in the sterile hallway once more. Of course, there was only one thing such a strange event could mean…

Ryoga Hibiki was once again lost.

Nothing new there, he thought and gave the recently departed ghost girl one last moment of consideration. Last week he had been somewhere in South America. The day before, Egypt. Now… The fanged martial artists sighed. _Beats the hell out of me. _He now found himself in some sort of complex maze of interconnected hallways that stretched for miles. Up. Down. Left. Right. Didn't matter. Half the place was obviously trashed, like he and Ranma had gone at it without regard to property damage. The thought warmed him. When he got back from wherever he as, he'd be sure to give his sparring partner and rival a good pasting this time.

All in all, the Lost Boy wasn't too worried. It wasn't the first time this had happened, nor would it be the last. Either he would get lost again to somewhere else or something interesting would happen sooner or later, both of which he hoped would happen _sooner_ than later…

...These hallways were getting goddamn boring.

A slight less navigationally challenged Amazonian warrior several thousand miles away flipped a hooked dagger through her fingers, its decorative jewels flashing in the sunlight. The well toned woman gave the dagger a final flip before tossing it to her other hand with a frown.

"Obviously not meant for battle." She concluded for the grey and black haired elder before her. "The balance is completely off. Not to say it can't be lethal, but this is _not_ a warrior's weapon."

The three foot elder rested her cane across her right shoulder, considering her warrior's words. She was one of her fifty best to receive the artifacts gifted to her by the goddess Beryl herself. "Be that as it may, the Goddess would not send us empty handed in battle against The Serenity. It flows with power, this much I can feel."

The warrior before her nodded, scrutinizing the dagger once more. "But how to release it? I too feel the power… It seems anxious to spring forth."

"Then concentrate on it, my child." Her leader encouraged. "The fate of the Amazon nation and the world rests in unlocking its secrets."

The warrior closed her eyes, focusing entirely on the power bubbling in her hands. Indeed the Elder was right. The blade was merely a pretty container. There was something more to this dagger and it was _begging_ to be unlocked. She pocked at the power in her minds eye and to her surprise, it poked back in the form of tendril of power that snaked through her body. The gasp that fell from her lips alerted the elder to the new development.

"What is it, child?"

'The power…" The teal haired warrior whispered still focusing entirely on the dagger in her hands. "It's calling me…"

The Amazonian matriarch thrilled. "Then accept it!"

"I… I…" She tried to form a coherent thought, but the tendril began to wrap around her mind and words formed in her mouth of their own. "_B…B_…_ Beryl Bondage Power… MAKE UP!"_

A flash of black light enveloped the Amazon, momentarily absorbing the sunlight streaming down around the immediate area as the dagger's full power came to bear on its host. The shadows faded but the power remained, leaving a much transformed Amazon warrior before the elder, who could only stare with incredulity. The teal haired woman formerly in Chinese combat silks now stood tall before her, transformed from head to toe in black leather. Everybody was now staring at the transfigured warrior who stood in thigh high stiletto boots that flowed up her legs like a black second skin, with matching arm length gloves. Covering up the essentials was a hip hugging g-string and halter top that served only to amplify her already generous bosom. In short, she had become an Amazon dominatrix, oozing sex, power and violence; all rolled into one shiny form fitting leather package. A silver tiara at her head adorned with an obsidian gem completed the package and the Amazonian Elder smiled evilly.

"Show us your power, child."

The warrior's smile mirrored her own as she stepped over to a four story boulder that had long ago separated itself from the local mountainside. She outstretched a shining black hand and power formed within its fingers. The words came naturally.

_"Dark Domination Bolt!"_

Angry black shadows weaved themselves in her hand and a ball of darkness shot forth into the mountain fragment easting sunlight on impact and violently disincorporated the fifty tone slab of stone with a shattering crash. Even as the dust and debris cleared, her entire audience gaped. Not only had the shadowy bolt utterly annihilated the errant boulder, but punched a sizable hole into the mountain it rested against. Not clear through, but _deep_.

"Truly a gift of the Goddess!" The Elder clapped at the demonstration, then turned back to the other warrior-candidates with a serious expression. "A gift not to be taken lightly, however. You will be the hand of Beryl manifest in this plane of existence. Acquaint yourself well with it, for the fall of Serenity is nigh!"

She smiled to herself, certain that the resultant echoes of cheering from the valley would reach the Goddess herself.

**/o/o/o****/o/o/o****/o/o/o/**

"But you have to meet her! She's my mom!" A flash of pink light accompanied Sailor Moon's words and knee high heels sank into grey lifeless dirt, as if they had been magically teleported to their destination. In fact, they had been. Sailor Pluto lowered the Time key as power bled from the artifact, its task completed.

"I'm just sayin' it's awkward is all." Ranma Saotome-Serenity returned with bland expression across her face. "She's you natural mother. I'm your reincarnated mother. I'm a guy. I'm a queen. I'm an heir to a martial arts--" Here words tapered off as the martial artists suddenly realized where they had been transported too. Oh, she'd known she was going, but knowing and actually stepping foot on the lifeless mass that used to be called home for the first time in over fourteen thousand years were two different matters entirely.

Now they stood atop one of those dead peaks, and a portion of Ranma's memory identified it as Mons Argaeus from the view it afforded. On a clear day she could see the Palace from up here. Off to the west, Luna Rey… Both now nothing more than ancient craters. The memories flowed readily across Ranma's vision now, supplanting the barren landscape before her with lush greenery. Snow capped mountain ranges. Crystal lakes. It was the crown of the empire in all its glory and now… Ranma blinked and it was gone.

All gone.

The Martial arts queen sucked in a breath as she surveyed what had once been her home, her friends standing respectfully aside. Memories continued to assault their queen and she sank to her knees, a single tear traced down her cheek. Moon knelt beside her and Pluto rested a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"Mom?"

"She'll be okay, Moon." Setsuna offered, looking down upon her best friend. "She's got all of us to help her through it." With her words, the remaining Senshi - eight planets, one moon and a prince gathered around her in support.

"Damn right." Minako assured, cracking the mood with a lopsided smile. Combined with the other Senshi, it was enough and Ranma slowly found her feet.

"It's alright, Mom. We're here for you… just like you were here for all of us." Nods from the girls accompanied Moon's gentle smile and Ranma forced one herself.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. I think." Ranma admitted. "But let's get this done. Don't think I'm ready for all of this yet."

Sailor Pluto nodded and raised the Time Key once more. The key pulsed pink light and the group was instantly transported from the scarred surface of their former home to a chamber several miles beneath the surface. The telepratation field cleared and the Senshi found themselves in a somewhat cramped room, mainly due to the dust covered crates and various packaging.

"Bomb shelter." Setsuna addressed the unanswered question, before keying open a near by door. Its opening hiss accompanied her next words. "I was able to map out three of eight special armories that survived the fall."

"What about the others?" Jupiter asked. Sestuna replied with a shrug.

"Got nuked." A silent 'oooh' accompanied their exit from the bomb shelter and into an anonymous, dimly lit hall. "First armory should be about half a kilometer in that direction."

It was an uneventful trip to the first weapons locker, a trip marked only by the occasional collapsed hallway or obvious structural damage. Two long, pot-marked hallways and eight turns later brought the Senshi to the weapons locker in question. It wasn't quite what they were expecting.

"Well that's not good." Sailor Jupiter observed as they came to the end of the first leg of their journey. Before them was a twisted mass of steal girdering and rock, most of it scorched by high temperatures in one form or another.

"Right." Setsuna offered dryly. "Scratch locker number one off the list."

"They all gonna be like this?" Ranma took a step forward, studying the dead end carefully. Whatever had been on the other side of the disaster area had been utterly destroyed.

"One should hope not." Neptune commented, turning back to Setsuna. "Next locker?"

"Two levels down, quarter kilometer west." Setsuna ticked off, and the group followed her lead as they retraced their steps from the dead end to the next junction. Small talk occupied the trek down two more level when a bassy rumble brought the Senshi to an abrupt halt.

"Anyone else here that?" Mars asked, looking around curiously.

"Moon quake?" Uranus forwarded with uncertainty. A deeper rumble was appended to her words as a fine layer of dust was dislodged from the supports above them. This time, the vibration was felt through their feet.

Sailor Pluto raised her staff up in preparation to port their party out. "Shouldn't be a quake. Our engineers ensured this site was drilled into stable bedrock."

"Did ya get a 14,000 year guarantee on that, Set-chan?" Ranma asked with an arched eyebrow and Setsuna frowned.

"Moon tectonics are effectively dead." She replied. "There shouldn't be anything moving down--"

_BOOOOooooOOMMM!_

The corridor in front of them exploded abruptly, violently filling the narrow hall with dust and debris, which the girls promptly began to choke on. Even as they stepped through the cloud and wiped their eyes of moon dust, Ranma stopped short, unable to believe the vision her blurred sight offered her.

"NOW WHERE AM I!"

"You've got to be kidding me." A giant sweat drop rolled down the side of Ranma's head. She recovered from her momentary stupor and stepped up to the Lost Boy, who was recovering from his Breaking Point stance. "Ryoga, what the HELL are you doing here?"

"Ack!" The bandanna'd martial artist leapt practically five foot back as the words came at him unexpectedly. It took him another moment to realize just who had spoken those words. "RANMA! I'm in Nerima?"

The silver-haired martial artist simply shook her head. "You're on the moon, baka."

"Don't treat me like an idiot, Ranma!" Ryoga snapped, failing to notice her companions. "I'm lost, not stupid!"

Ranma merely shook her head, jabbing a thumb to her companions.

"You're on the moon."  
"Yep."  
"Outer space."  
"He's cute!"  
"How did he get _up_ here?"  
"Is he a youma?"  
"I saw him first!"  
"Friend of yours, Serenity-chan?"  
"Can I have him, your highness?"

Ranma blinked at that last comment, having come from what she had come to know as the normally reserved Sailor Mercury. Ryoga took another step back as an eager gleam manifested itself in the eyes of the teenage girls known as the Inners. "Uh, Ranma… Who are they?"

"Pick the one you want. She's you fiancée." Ranma said under her breath before addressing her rival directly. "Ryoga, meet the Sailor Senshi. Girls, Tux; Ryoga Hibiki."

The fanged martial artist began to sweat under their incandescent smiles and took another step back. Even as he sought to conjure a topic to distract the girls, Setsuna stepped around him, staring down the blown out path he had carved.

"Hmm, that would be about right." The Senshi muttered, then turned to Ryoga. "I don't suppose you saw a large vault down there, P-chan?"

"As a matter of fact…" Ryoga's eyes widened as his brain caught up to her words. "HEY!"

Pluto nodded and stepped into the makeshift passageway. "Shortcut. Let's go this way."

Ryoga glared daggers into Ranma as she walked by. "YOU---!"

"Uh-uh. Don't look at me." She raised her hands in defense. "You oughta know me better than that."

"Then how did she know!" He hissed as they filed in behind the Mistress of Time. "And what's with the silver hair?"

Ranma simply shook her head. "Long story. Tell ya as soon as we're done up here."

Less than five minutes later the Senshi and one not-so lost martial artist found themselves in front of a huge slab of glistening steel, held closed by six truck sized bolts. Its size and structure promised to withstand all but the heaviest of direct fire, and _that_ spanned well into the double digit megaton range of explosives.

"Welcome to Special Weapons Locker number three."

Michiru eyed her fellow outer. "What happened to number two?"

Setsuna shrugged. "It's off that way somewhere. Serenity's friend opened up a faster route to number three."

Ryoga blinked. "Serenity's friend?"

Ranma sighed. "That'd be you."

"But I don't_ know_ a Serenity." He replied cluelessly, exasperating Ranma further.

"You do now." Ranma replied in a low voice, eliciting another clueless look. "Later. Set-chan, what's it take to--"

The martial arts queen was cut off as a human form suddenly wavered into existence before the group. Ranma's jaw nearly dropped from it's hinges and Moon gasped. The woman was taller than Ranma, but sported the same blue eyes and hair, if not the same body. A moon shown obviously on her forehead. The Saotome gasped.

"That's… that's…!"

"Greetings traveler. If you are hearing this, it means the Silver Millennium has fallen and the long night has begun." The translucent figure spoke, capturing the Senshi's attention in its entirety. "The evil of Beryl has sacrificed billions to obtain her dream of domination, a dream we have denied her. Even so, the price has been high. I have done my best to seal this evil away, but one can never be too certain. To that end I have stored the seeds of restoration in lesser vaults, while the tools of power are stored herein, awaiting the rebirth of the Senshi to be accessed. It is my hope that one day..."

"I liked me taller." Ranma stated offhandedly, studying the her that once was as the hologram continued its narration.

"Better figure now, though." Setsuna commented in the same manner, to which Ranma merely nodded.

"True." Both studied the hologram a moment long before simply stepping through it and up to the vault. "So what does it take to open this thing?"

"This." Setsuna replied. "Special Weapons Vault Alpha Three Charlie, open on authorization Setsuna Meiou, Princess of Pluto."

A black panel imbedded in the steal slab came to life and long dead script flashed across it. "_Welcome Setsuna Meiou, Princess of Pluto. Please input authorization key_."

The Senshi took a breath. "Omicron-eight-eight-gamma break one-oh-six solstice alpha."

The panel churned with information for a moment before blanking out. "_Initial key accepted. Dual lockout protocols require command key from a Guardian or Queen Serenity before this vault can be accessed._"

Ranma remained silent, enraptured once more by her holographic mirror before receiving an elbow courtesy of Pluto. "Oh, yeah. Queen Serenity. I'm here."

Ryoga blinked with this new piece of information. "Ranma…?"

The panel remained silent for a moment. "_Anomalies detected. DNA and vocal shifts have occurred. Please remain still. Level eight scan in progress._"

"Level eight?" From nowhere, a transparent field appeared just above her head, shifting into a two dimensional square large enough to accommodate her body. The green square then floated downward, flowing though Ranma's body on the vertical plane. The scan lasted only a few seconds and abruptly disappeared as it came into contact with the ground. The martial artist took stock of all her body parts to ensure they were present and accounted for.

"_Magical field and life force analyzed and confirmed._" The panel concluded. "_Welcome Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium. Please input authorization key._"

Ranma opened her mouth. "Um… That is…" her mouth closed, and she stared at the vault.

"_Please input authorization key."_

"Uh, right." Ranma scratched the back of her silver head. "It's um… Sounds like…"

"You don't remember." Setsuna stated blandly, and her friend's face took on a sheepish look. Pluto sighed. "Right. Should have seen it coming."

"Sorry 'bout that." Ranma apologized and Setsuna shrugged already considering contingencies.

"Can't expect your memories to be one-hundred percent." She replied. "Still, it creates a dilemma. We can't burn our way in. The AI will detonate the entire vault if it senses the intrusion. Maybe…"

"Can we hack our way in?" Mercury was already pulling out the clamshell link to her planetary super-computer.

"Not with that." Setsuna shook her head. "As powerful as the Mercury Computer is, you're sending a database AI against a defense AI. We'd be lucky if the Mercury Computer weren't reduced to a molten pile of slag by defensive protocols."

"Then we're screwed?" Sailor Uranus frowned, and Ranma shook her head.

"I know ya better than that, Set-chan." She smiled lightly. "You got something in mind."

Pluto nodded. "Mercury, have the computer search for any other AI's that might still be active on the moon."

The Senshi nodded and began to tap commands into the PDA. "Opening link. Searching…" The cobalt haired girl frowned. "The Moon's data network is trashed. There's nothing left of the main core, and anything that is intact is substantially less powerful than Mercury here."

"Expand your search to external networks." Pluto ordered and Ami was immediately on it.

"Let's see… fifteen external links acquired." She reported. "Four unresponsive, six are star tug AIs, three--ooooh…" The Senshi waited patiently for an interpretation of the word. "I'm logged onto the data network of the HMS Agamemnon. Looks promising."

"The Agami?" Ranma questioned as the familiar name tugged at more than a few memories.

Her best friend grinned. "Well, it is an Alpha Class tactical AI. Should be able to tear the Vault AI apart if we can get it functioning."

"Currently in standby." Mercury continued, sifting through the data before her. "Looks like it was…"

"…dry docked for upgrades." Ranma finished, half entranced by the memories flickering through her brain.

Ami arched an eyebrow. "Correct. Let's see… Stripped of over half her armament and most of her reactor plants have been removed. She's got two still in place. One is depleted and the other is down to less than five percent of its original mass."

"In other words, she won't be going anywhere anytime soon." Pluto surmised and Mercury nodded in the affirmative. "Doesn't mean we can't make use of her. Wake her up, Mercury."

Mercury's Senshi nodded in response, keying in another command sequence. "Bringing the kernel up… Routing through the link."

The link flashed with data briefly and a faint streamer of light flickered into existence through the open space. eleven girls and one boy watched as the streamer took the shape of what looked like a girl with a short bowl cut, two long streamers of hair and a fuku every bit as elaborate as the Senshi's themselves. Unlike the senshi, however, she was entirely transparent blue, or rather various shade thereof. The fuku itself was made of independent ribbons of data that floated around her body, much like the jewelry that adorned her. She appeared before them, her emotionless face staring into the floor.

"Agamemnon, online." The data-born hologram reported softly. "Unfolding higher logic command core… Done. Polling memory core… Done. Updating systems event—" The girl stopped, looking up suddenly with concern writ large across her face. "Oh my."

Ryoga and Ranma gave one another a queer look with the girl's familiar wording, but held their silence as she became aware of her audience. She seemed to study them one by one before returning to Setsuna. "Princess Pluto… It would appear as if my event logs are somewhat… out of date."

"Only 14,000 years, plus or minus." Mercury mumbled, to which the holographic girl nodded.

"Indeed." The concern was evident in the AI's light female voice. "I must express my alarm at the current state of affairs. Not only is my superstructure _still_ in dry dock, but all my external data links are offline. May I inquire as to the current situation?"

Setsuna motioned to Mercury. "Mercury computer archives should bring you up to speed."

The hologram nodded once more and took on her contemplative downward looking pose, holding it for the next fifteen seconds as data symbology swirled around her. She returned her eyes to level with a pensive expression moments later. "The situation is… dire. Beyond that, a logical discontinuity exists. The Mercury data base list all the Senshi as killed in action, yet I find them before me."

"The Queen intervened on their behalf before she… departed." Setsuna summarized, casting a quick, sidelong glance over to Ranma. "The Senshi before you are the originals reincarnated in the here and now."

The AI before them seemed to consider this, seemingly evidence by the quickening of stray data strings floating about her. She turned to Sailor Moon, who had been passively watching the exchange. "Then let me express my condolences for the loss of your mother, Usagi Moon. The pleasure of having her on my command deck was entirely mine."

Sailor Moon gave up a weak smile. "Uh, yeah… About that…"

"What's up Agami?"

The avatar of the HMS Agamemnon blinked at the familiarity of address and turned to the source of the greeting, scrutinizing the diminutive girl before her. Her features were unrecognizable, but the silver hair definitely indicated Serenity heritage. The Agamemnon looked from the stranger to the daughter, who hadn't grown into her own silver hair yet, and made a guess. "Your sister, Queen Moon?"

Usagi was left relatively speechless by her new title and Setsuna stepped in smoothly to take over the conversation. "Not quite. Meet the Reincarnated Queen Serenity. Serenity-chan, the HMS Agamemnon."

The Agamemnon stepped up to the martial artist, studying her intently. Ranma was forced to look up at the AI girl, who now stood a full head and a half over her. She cocked her head and returned her attention to the Mistress of Time. "You're sure, Princess Pluto?"

"On my life."

"This is officially weird." Ranma commented, studying the hologram. "I know It… I mean you… I mean… Dammit, I'm beginnin' to seriously hate memory overlap."

"My apologize for the mistake, your Highness." Agami bowed. "I am pleased that your status is among that of the living, as opposed to the alternative. What will you have of me? I'm afraid my functional capacity is rather… limited at the moment."

Ranma found herself smiling in spite of herself. The memories were a haze, but she knew that the Agamemnon avatar and herself had spent a great deal of time in one another's company. "Good to see ya too, Agami. How's life been treatin' you?"

The digital girl seemed to think on the matter. "Not much better than yours, by the sound of it, your Eminence. I've never been so under powered or armed in my entire life. It is embarrassing, to be frank."

Saotome-Serenity chuckled. "Promise I'll slap the biggest guns I can find on you once we get things around here straightened out." The avatar's shifting blue glow seemed to intensify with the thought, and a smile formed at its lips as well.

"And what are we 'straightening out', if I might ask?"

"Need to open that." Ranma jabbed a thumb at the sealed weapons locker.

"A special weapons locker with dual lockout encryption." The Agamemnon looked from her to Pluto, and back. "Would it be safe to assume that a reincarnation event has adverse effects on human memory?" Ranma simply nodded. "Then you require me to breach the defensive AI guarding it. One moment." Agami settled back into her contemplative stance and recovered from it almost immediately. "This will be… problematic."

Setsuna arched an eyebrow. "How so?"

"I require a direct link to the defensive AI." Agami explained. "It would appear that every connection to my hull was either severed or terminated during the Fall. There are a few intact, but I cannot open them from the outside, as such."

"And you can't use the Mercury data bridge you're using now?" Ami asked, and the AI shook her head.

"It would be the weakest link." The digital girl explained. "The vault AI would seek to severe it immediately and stands a high probability of success in doing so."

Even as Setsuna, Ami and the Agamemnon began a three way discussion on alternative methods to breech the vault, Ranma had settled into her own contemplation. There was something, tugging at the back of her brain in the shadows of memories. Something that would help. The martial artist pressed into the shadows further, gaining more detailed glimpses of her former life as she did so. It was… Almost in reach…

The silver-haired martial artist's eyes snapped open abruptly. "What would it take for ya to open the lines from the outside, Agami?"

"The Moon's command core or a direct order to the command core by somebody with sufficient access." The hologram explained. "Providing the moon command core hadn't been buried under sixteen million tons of rock, of course."

"There is that." Ami deadpanned. Still, Ranma continued to gather the fragments of memory around her.

"But Agami is the key..." The martial artist insisted, digging through memories until she hit pay dirt. She tugged at the thread and this time, the codes came blurting from her mouth with authority. "Command core HMS Agamemnon, unlock protocols gamma-omicron-scarlet-eleven-eleven, authorization; Queen Serenity."

The digital avatar stiffened abruptly and pulsed a bright indigo blue. The glyphic bits floating lazily around her spun into a wild frenzy as her fuku rippled with raw data transfer, letters and numbers racing visibly across her exterior. "Protocols unlocked. Command core Agamemnon standing by for evolution."

"Well that's a novel approach, Senny…" Setsuna scritched her chin thoughtfully and watched with the barest of smiles. Ranma tugged once more and the final word fell from her lips.

"Execute."

The already bright avatar burst into a blue nova with the word, sending streamers of neon whipping wildly up and down the hall, between the Senshi and back into orbit around her as her clothing transformed from a normal fuku into something closer to that of a shrine priestess. The wild streamers settled down into lacy ribbons and the Agamemnon's hair grew out into a luscious blue mane. When the transformation finally settled, the AI's eyes flicked open, alive with transfer of data.

"Evolution complete." She reported in the same youthful voice as before. The rush of protocols faded from the digital girl and she sighed before recovering. "Assuming full Lunar control… such as it is. I have successfully opened a port to the vault defensive AI."

Setsuna nodded. "Crack it."

"Um, Mom…?" Usagi leaned forward curiously. "What did you just _do_?"

"Think I just gave Agami full control of the Moon." Scratched her head, slightly embarrassed that she didn't know exactly what her words had set in motion. The fact that she remembered _that_ set of codes and not the vault's didn't help either.

"Serenity-chan is correct." Agami confirmed. "In lieu of the Moon's command AI, she has promoted me to that role. I now have control what remains of moon's resources. In fact, I will be devoting what is left to repairing and rebuilding its infrastructure once this task is complete."

"You put a _super dreadnought_ AI in charge of the moon?" Ami asked with some measure of disbelief. Ranma shrugged.

"How long?" Setsuna asked, ignoring the missive.

"Care is needed so that the AI does not perceive a threat." The transparent blue girl replied. "Estimate, one point five hours."

"Might as well get comfy then." Venus shrugged, leaning against the vault door.

"_What the hell is going on here!_" Ryoga exploded suddenly, drawing all eyes to him. Hungry glinting couldn't help but to be seen in a few of them and the realization checked the Lost Boy's anger slightly. "And why are they calling you a _queen_, Ranma?" then pointing to the blonde odango-atama "And why is _she_ calling you _mother!_ If you've hurt Akane…!"

Ranma simply looked at her long time friend and rival. "Like Minako said, might as well get comfy. It's a _long_ story."

**/o/o/o****/o/o/o****/o/o/o/**

"The demons. Where are they?"

The creak of wood accompanied the question, though Cologne had known there was a presence sneaking into her restaurant well in advance. What _was_ surprising was the amount of raw power leaking from them. Might explain how they got her so fast, she surmised before turning to face her uninvited guest.

"Subtlety was never your strong suit, Nair." Cologne studied her counterpart, who sported a crimson robe and a mane of grey and black hair. Propped on her cane, she stood slightly taller than the interloping elder. She was also flanked by… the matriarch blinked. She recognized the warriors guarding Nair. What she didn't recognize was their black form-fitting clothing… If one could call what barely covered the essentials clothing. She had seen pictures like them before, normally in the hands of young perverts or certain older ones. As much as she wanted to chide her rival of their dress, she didn't want to damage the honor of those wearing such clothing, if only because they could be useful later on.

"Nor intelligence yours." Nair sneered back. "For if it were, you'd realize the precipice you dangle over and answer the question directly."

_More than you realize_, Cologne thought before answering. "The Serenity has taken her demons and departed. I was powerless to stop the ancient evil from doing so."

The elder Nair eyed her. "So you admit they are demons now?"

"They went with The Serenity." Cologne answered truthfully, if not in detail. "It is the only explanation."

Nair smiled the smile of the enlightened victorious. "Perhaps there is hope for you yet. For now, however, you will remain here while we deal with our enemy once and for all. I would assume her and her demon brood are at the Tendo dojo?"

"To the best of my knowledge." Cologne confirmed without guilt. It wasn't as if anybody even remotely associated with her former son in-law didn't know where he lived.

"Then we will strike in overwhelming force!" She crowed, slamming her fist onto a table. "Balm, Gloss. Inform the others! Serenity dies today!"

Both girls turned on a stilettoed heel and strode out of the empty restaurant, their elder close behind. Cologne shook her head in disappointment. She was sure she had covered her ass effectively, now she could only hope that she had covered those of the equally resurrected Amazons with equal effectiveness in Ranma Soatome, the greatest evil known to man.

**/o/o/o****/o/o/o****/o/o/o/**

_CRAAAaasSH!_

Kasumi paused in her daily regiment of chores, setting aside the feather duster with wide eyes as the living room wall imploded with a violent crash. Despite the destructive nature of the event, most of the debris was confined to a relatively small area, leaving the eldest Tendo daughter as to wonder just who was making their way through the settling cloud of dust. Their method of entry quickly narrowed down the likely list of suspects in Kasumi's mind, as walls were the primary method of entry of Amazon warriors, much to her dismay.

Wouldn't be Shampoo. Two years of billing at Nabiki's hand had all but broke her of that particular habit, she reasoned. Nor Ranma's two new Amazon friends, for that matter. They appeared to mind their martial arts property damage better than most guests and were currently helping her with the laundry in the back room anyway.

The figures cleared their breach and Kasumi forced a smile. Amazons they were. Sometimes she hated to be right so damn often. Right about Ranma and Akane. Right about Ranma being a magical girl. Right about… "Oh my, are you more of Ranma's friends?"

The Elder between the two leather clad Amazons skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point. "We have business with The Serenity. Summon her now."

"Serenity?" Kasumi Tendo puzzled for a moment before making the connection. "Oh, Ranma. She's not here right now. Can I get you some cookies?"

Somehow, she didn't think the S&M clad Amazon women were in the mood for snacks, but they definitely_ were _dressed the part of potential fiancées

"_Where_ is the spawn of hell?"

Then again, maybe not.

"That's what I'd like to know!" A disgruntled voice from the stairway growled, prompting Kasumi to turn around. There stood Nabiki, looking like her normal morning disheveled mess… except it wasn't morning. "I'm getting sick of cold showers caused by that goddamn cat tongue thing!"

The Amazonian matriarch arched an eyebrow for the middle Tendo. Cat tongue? The hell spawn shows its true colors by torturing the ones around it, she thought grimly. All the more reason to remove it from existence. "Tell us where The Serenity is so that we may slay it… and perhaps alleviate your condition."

"20,000 yen." The Elder blinked. Kasumi simply shook her head and sighed. If her little sister kept this up, she'd be on the receiving end of another couple pressure points for sure… and that might not necessarily be a bad thing, she thought with mild amusement.

The short Amazon's gaze narrowed sharply on the middle Tendo. "You seem to think that was a request. _It was not._"

Nabiki rolled her eyes. Martial artists were such a pain, Amazons doubly so. And it was such a pain to teach the new ones the rules. "It's simple." She began conversationally. "20,000 yen and we can talk about where Ranma—"

The elder spoke a word of Chinese and one of her bondage Amazon's lurched forward in an impossible blur. Nabiki blinked and the warrior was already behind her, breathing down her neck.

_Poke._

The sister's body immediately turned to jello as the leather clad Amazon push a single finger into the small of her back, sending her inert body to the floor. She collapsed face down, only to receive a hard stilletoed kick to right her face up. Nair tisk'd the girls. "You are fortunate I require information of you, little girl. Cease to be useful and I might just find it necessary to dispose of your presence in a more permanent fashion." She stepped forward, addressing Kasumi directly. "Perhaps a more painful demonstration is in order."

"You're not a very polite guest." Kasumi frowned. The Elder brought the tip of her cane to bear. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to—Oh my!"

The sound of rapid fire mandarin halted the tip inches from its target, causing the elder to turn around to face the newcomers. "Ah, the damned of Serenity have arrived." She then slipped seamlessly into Chinese. "Where is your master, so that we may slay her and be done with this once and for all?"

"You are making a dire mistake, Elder." Potion replied in a serious, but respectful tone. "Our people are being used as pawns for a dark force."

"Ha!" The black clad Amazon off the matriarch's right laughed. "We'd expect no less from the dogs of Serenity."

"It is true!" Wax returned sharply. "Had you eyes you would see that the best of us are being culled as demon fodder! The trial, our goddess, is a _lie_."

"ENOUGH!" Nair sliced the air with her cane, ending the argument. "You will not disparage our goddess in such a way. Balm, Gloss! Show this trash the consequences of defying the will of Almighty Beryl."

"Dressed like that?" Potion commented with a wry smile, infuriating the trio further.

"I'll enjoy grinding you into dust." Cream replied, stepping forward while cracking her knuckles. Wax shrugged with indifference and took her own attack stance. She had endured nearly four centuries in dark damnation. There was little anything that drew breath could do to intimidate her anymore, and now it was time to get some back.

"So bring it, already."

**/o/o/o****/o/o/o****/o/o/o/**

"And seriously… You need to lose the mask and tuxedo." The silver haired martial artist advised Moon's fiancée with mild disdain. "The only reason I'm givin' you a pass here is because I remember you from back then… Barely."

Tuxedo Mask's cheek continued to twitch throughout his Queen's rebuke, but any response he may have had was preempted as a loud click through the hallway. That was the vault door? She cast a glance at her best friend, who nodded. "I heard that too." Setsuna commented on the unspoken question, turning to the holographic representation of Agami who stood in quiet concentration. "Status report, Ag—"

_Whiiirrrrllll…  
CLICK  
CLICK  
CLICK  
THUuuMP!  
HiiiiiiissssssSSSS…_

Her eyes widened as the outer ring of the massive vault began to dilate while sections of it began to pull away into the armored wall around it. Now all the Senshi and Ryoga were up from their sitting positions, waiting with anticipation as the last of the vault either fell into the wall or swung away from them. There was a final click and the blast door was cleared from their path in its entirety.

"Operation complete." Agami reported, awakening from her repose. "I have successfully neutralized the defensive AI. One moment while I retrieve a manifest of the vault contents." Data symbology flowed briefly across her skin at an accelerate rate. "Done. I have three hundred and forty cataloged items on file; Of note, twelve CX36 Nano bombardment pods, fifty three AX33 Long Range Anti-Tachyon warheads, sixteen…" The Agamemnon AI's voice tapered of as she noticed her audience walking around her in a daze, staring into the massive vault with wide eyes. "Or, you could just take a look yourself."

"Now this is what I'm taking about." Uranus grinned, hefting a rather large multi-barrel weapon that hung on a rack near the entrance.

"Put the toys down, Lover." Neptune comment as she glided by, pulling her partner back to the rest of the group.

Ryoga's face took on a slight case of slack jaw, and he turned to Ranma. "Did she just call her…? Are they…?"

"Pretty sure they don't bite, P-chan." Ranma commented easily, wallowing in the memories of the pair. Hell, she had chosen them herself as her Senshi if memory served. Granted, that in itself was pretty vague, but she knew enough to where it didn't come as the same shock it did to Ryoga.

"At least not in public." Neptune added at the sight of Ryoga's face turning a healthy shade of pink, and a slight smile escaped Ranma's lips as she pictured Akane's reaction to their 'perverted' behavior, let alone her own acceptance of it. Call it a perk of being a magical girl, as a millennia's worth of memories were steadily eroding her own social rigidity; the freedom they contained nearly _intoxicating._

Ryoga recovered from his mental stumbling and turned away from the hand holding pair and back to Ranma, changing the subject more for his own mental stability than anything else. "Who does all this stuff belong to anyway?"

"Um, me, I think..." Ranma replied in a near reverent tone as her eyes swept shelf after shelf of weapons and armor, much of which she was a total loss as to identify.

"YOURS!" Ryoga practically choked on her answer.

"Yep. Hmmm… You're kinda cute when you're like that." Ranma mused, then found her eyes tracing the contours of his body. And great muscle tone too. With a backside that just wouldn't quit. The silver millennium was a pretty liberal era. She could take him as a royal consort and nobody would think twice about-- Her mental appraisal was interrupted by the gaping shock plastered across her rivals face, prompting the martial artist to check her own thoughts. _What the HELL am I thinking!_

"What the _HELL_ are you thinking!" Ryoga exploded, taking a wary step back. "Don't EVEN look at me like that!"

Ranma stood blinking, as if the act would reconcile the millennia old memories for her. _Dammit, dammit, dammit! _The veil between eras was getting thinner with each passing moment, and being up here so close to home wasn't helping any. Even that thought caused her pause. Home was down on Earth. But she remembered… The reincarnated queen shook her head. "Look, let's just forget I even said that, 'kay?"

"What the hell is wrong with you, Ranma!" Ryoga blustered along the edge of righteous indignation and fear. "One moment you're you and the next… I don't _even_ know."

"I already told ya, dammit!" Ranma snapped back. "I got memories from fourteen thousand years ago stuffed sideways in my brain! Doesn't help that I was a chick back then either, so cut me some slack already!"

Setsuna stepped up to the pair with a measure of concern in her eyes, looking from the Lost Boy to her best friend. "Problem, your Highness?"

"Just a few centuries of memories kickin' my ass is all." Ranma growled, causing Setsuna to adopt a sympathetic expression.

"You're… serious about all this." Ryouga stumbled over his words. "You're _all_ serious about this."

The silver haired pigtailed girl sighed heavily. "That's what I was trying to tell ya out there. I got better things to do than make up a cockamamie story like this."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Ryoga eyed his rival critically, remembering the farce where she played his long lost sister.

Ranma was about to rebuke him when she stopped and thoughtfully considered her friend and rival. "Okay, you're right. I'm sorry. But I'm dead serious about this."

Ryoga simply stared. Ranma never apologized, and if he did, it was usually like pulling teeth to get one. That thought, more than any other, went a long way toward convincing him that Ranma was totally serious. Well, that and the fact Ranma was actually checking him out. Hibiki shivered.

"Okay, fine. But I still don't believe I'm on the moon."

Ranma shrugged. "Suit yourself, but the sooner we get out of here, the better off I'll be."

The Princess of Pluto nodded. "We could be here for a long time just poking around like this." She motioned to the other Senshi as an example, who were doing just that. "Agami?"

The hologram phased in beside the trio. "Princess Pluto? Your Highness?"

"We need to speed this up." She motioned to the vault. "We're looking to upgrade our offensive abilities. Defense too, if it's convenient."

"Of course, Princess." Agami nodded, her flowing robe rippling with data. "Defensive upgrades are accomplished easily enough, it would appear."

With her words, a nearby wall panel hissed open, revealing several polished crystal stones cut in the form of oval broaches. Setsuna walked over to the panel and the shelf that had flowed out from it. She picked up one of the items as the other Senshi gathered around, examining it. "Aurora crystals?"

"Correct Princess." Agami confirmed. "Single use defensive boosters specifically designed for magical armor."

"Such as our fukus." Mercury surmised, earning a nod from the Agamemnon's AI.

Setsuna began to distribute the stones, mounting one on her fuku's ribbon in the process. "Just will their activation and you've got approximately two minutes worth at one hundred and fifty percent. One time use, so don't blow them unless you have to. Weapons, Agami-chan?"

"Most of the potential in this vault are exceeded by your planetary bindings or inappropriate for minor engagements." The AI reported. "There are however, notable exceptions. One crystalline link long sword. Three Moon staves. Two Plasma Caster gunblades. Six A0 tactical Elerium Blaster Launchers, limited reloads. One chain sword…"

"Didn't you outlaw those, Senny?" Pluto inserted, wearing a curious look. "Something about cruel and unusual?"

"Beats the hell outta me." Ranma shrugged and turned her attention back to the running list.

"…One Neutron Divide Cannon. Three XA80 PPD Modules…"

Ranma was left shaking her head. "Ain't up to speed on all this crap yet. Set-chan?"

"Right." The Mistress of Time took over smoothly. "Moon, ditch that little wand of yours and grab a Moon Staff. It'll be a much better magical focus and more practical anyhow." Setsuna ignored Usagi's shocked look and continued. "Kamen, grab a gunblade. Should fit right in with your penchants for ranged warfare… And keep you engaged to Usagi." She ignored his gasp as well. "Mars, take the Point Defense Pods, Venus, the link sword."

"Can I have the Tachyon Divide Cannon?" Haruka asked hopefully, hope that was cut down by a frown from her superior.

"No."

"What about the Blaster Launcher?"

Setsuna arched an eyebrow. "_Definitely_ not." The boy beside Ranmna suddenly entered her field of attention. "Grab some Field Plate, P-chan. And the chain sword while you're at it."

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Ryoga blurted angrily. "Besides, I don't need any of these toys!"

"Look stup--" Ranma's insult died on her tongue as her Serenity persona reared its head and introduced her to a concept rarely used in the martial artist's life… _Diplomacy_. "Uh, look Ryoga, we might be facing angry Amazons kickin' around the power of Saffron." Ryoga stilled as the dire nature of the situation became apparent. "I know you could take 'em, but this'll be happenin' in Nerima, get my drift?"

Ryoga remained silent for a moment, glaring at Ranma before lapsing into a disgusted look. "Fine, point taken. But if you try to be any nicer, I might just have to puke."

"Puke all ya want." Ranma countered. "But we can't afford the collateral damage cuz we're bein' stubborn."

"Then what about you?" He questioned as Pluto handed him a single gold engraved bracer adorned with a large blue jewel as a centerpiece. Ryoga pointed to his newly aquired item. "You getting one of these too?"

"Naw, don't need it."

The fanged martial artist scowled. "So it's 'do as I say' and all that?"

Saotome-Serenity opened her mouth to answer, only to have her best friend intervene. "I'm pretty sure _you_ can't carve a fifteen foot hole though two miles of solid bedrock to the surface on willpower alone."

"So?"

Pluto motioned to Ranma. "_She can_. So can her daughter, for that matter."

Ryoga gave the green haired woman a skeptical look but decided not to pursue the matter further since he was already ass-deep in strangeness. Supposedly he was on the moon and in a weapons locker full of high tech weaponry _thousands_ of years in advance of anything Earth was capable of fielding, while Ranma was the magical girl queen-mother that owned it all. The lost boy silently thanked God he had built up a healthy immunity to the strange and unusual and instead opted to play with the chain sword that was in easy reach.

"Alright, whatever." He continued, giving the bulky broad sword a few practice strokes. "So how does this crap work anyway?"

"The armor is touch activated." Setsuna stated, eyeing his careless swipes warily. "Touch the stone on the bracer and the plate magically deploys. For the sword, simply hit the big red button at the base of the hilt."

CliCK. _WrrrrrRRRRrrrrrr!_

"I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be…" Mercury began and Ryoga gave it a few more practice swings as shiny jagged teeth came to life along the blade's edge.

"How's that compared to your umbrella, Ryo—"

_BZZzzzT!_** THWAP!**

Ranma's question was interrupted as the torque of the blade's powered state caused the Lost Boy to over-swing and slice _through_ an adjacent weapons rack. The solid steel frame parted easily beneath the swords ravenous teeth, showering the immediate area in furious sparks. The fanged martial artist pulled the sword back in surprise as it attempted to dig a hasty trench into the armored vault floor. He slapped the hilt and the chain sword's rampage was halted. All eyes were riveted on his person and Tux's own finger stopped short of pressing the big red button on his own plasma launching long sword with the display.

Sailor Uranus managed to pull her attention away from the spectacle with a frown, still looking around the vault. "So this is the stuff that needed dual lockout encryption? I thought some of the most lethal hardware known to man was supposed to be stored here."

"Oh, the _really_ big stuff is back there." Pluto reached over to a nearby panel and keyed an anonymous button, revealing the rest of the vault as more lighting revealed a darkened portion of the space. Haruka's froze. Beyond her was a steel cavern lined wall to wall with deadly looking missiles, bombs and other implements of mass destruction.

Setsuna smiled at her reaction. "Alright, playtime's over. Grab your gear and let's head out." She watched the girls pick through the vault, only to find Minako simply standing before an open locker and the Crystal Link Sword therein. "Venus?"

"I… I can't…" The blonde whispered. She tried to comply, but her arms refused to perform the necessary actions to help grasp the weapon. Instead, they hung limp by her side as fear pooled in her blue eyes. All progress had stopped as the remaining Senshi focused on her. "I remember… Usagi… she… she…"

Ranma looked curiously from her the frozen girl to her best friend, whose face was rapidly forming into a frown. "What's up?"

Setsuna pull the silver-haired girl off to the corner of the vault as the other girls moved into comfort Minako, all the girls except for Ranma's daughter, who stood equally frozen. "Not sure how to approach this one, so I'll give it to you straight." Pluto's gaze flicked from one Senshi to the other. "When her fiancé went down, your daughter fell on her own sword. She took her own life on Minako's sword, Senny, and now Venus can't touch a weapon." She paused, glancing at the girl in question. "And that Link Blade looks a lot like the one she used to wield."

Ranma turned toward the girl and her companions, taking in the group and the blade beyond. From the gold braided hilt was a blade, nearly transparent in nature save the edges and several engraved 'v's carved along the flat and pointing up to the tip. Light refracted within the blade and it seemed to glow unnatural to Ranma. She cocked her head slightly and the light shifted. There was something familiar—

_Flash._ Blood splashed through her mind's eye as Usagi watched her fiancée get taken apart as Mamoru's direct assault on Beryl failed. _Flash._ More blood, this time her daughter's as she ran herself through on the sword Venus had tossed her earlier in the battle. Crimson flowed down the purity of the crystal edge and Ranma distinctly remembered shutting her own emotion down, choosing to focus all her rage and sorrow on the conflict before her. The girl's eyes began to glisten, but the only sound that escaped was a sniffle before Ranma regained control.

"I… I see." Her voice broke only slightly as she processed the phantoms of the past in her mind. Setsuna nodded gravely. "I…" It was a situation that Serenity was having a hard time comprehending given the players involved. Fortunately, her present day persona wasn't so handicapped. "I… it's… This is bullshit!"

Pluto blinked as Ranma wiped away the tears and strode purposely across the vault over to Venus and the other girls. "Sa-chan, get over here." The sharp command pulled Usagi out of her depressed daze, causing her to fall in line with her mother on reflex alone. The same commanding tone worked wonders for Venus as well. "Minako." The blonde tore her eyes off the glinting blade. The silver-haired girl turned her attention to her daughter. "Usagi, apologize to Minako. Now."

"A… Apologize?"

Ranma's eyes hardened noticeably, causing Usagi to hold her breath and take a step back. "You will never, _ever_ kill yourself again, _especially_ not before the bad guy is dead." The girl looked like she was about to interject when her mother cut her off cold, her gaze now sweeping the entire room. "That goes for all of you. I don't care if you've lost everything. Your friends. Your fiancée. Whatever. You _will_ grind the bad guy into the dust first, _then _question your own goddamn existence later, do I make myself _crystal_ _clear?_" Wide eyes and nods greeted her words, and her voice lowered to a threatening growl. "And if I happen to find you _don't_ kick their butts before you slit your own wrists, you can be _damn _certain I'll hunt you down in the afterlife and kick your ass just as surely as I sent you forward to the here and now."

The Senshi now stared slack-jawed at their monarch, while even Ryoga watched on with incredulity. That was Ranma in there, but…something else had manifested. Something _scary_. The moment passed and Ranma resumed her ultimatum as both aspects of her personality merged with synergistic clarity. Those hard blue eyes then turned back on Moon. "And _you_ are the heir to a goddamn galactic empire. One day you'll have _billions _relying on you for guidance. The innocent will turn to you for protection. Of everybody in this room, you don'thave the _luxury_ of suicide."

It took another moment for Usagi to recover from the dressing down and still she found herself unable to tear herself from her mother's gaze, like a deer caught in the headlights. The eyes softened slightly and flicked toward Venus, silently advising her of her next course of action.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Minako…" Moon started in a jerky, emotion filled voice. "I shouldn't have done that to you… To any of you…"

"It's in the past, Moon." Venus stated quietly. "I just remember. Not much, but I remember _that_…"

"Mom's right though." She returned. "I can't call myself a princess, let alone a queen if I fold so easily."

"Not so easily." Neptune brushed the girl's hair gently. "Your actions in the here and now readily attest to the strength of your character."

Ranma and Setsuna smiled as the Senshi and Tux gathered around the pair of blondes in support. It was a smile that quickly faded from the Saotome as her persona fell out of sync. She looked at Pluto with a measure of wonder. "What the hell did I just do?"

They watched the scene for another minute before Setsuna replied. "Something tells me you just made things a little better." The Mistress of Time gave her best friend a reassuring smile before turning back to the Senshi. "Venus, that sword is yours now. Girls, gear up. We've got some Amazon ass to kick."

**/o/o/o****/o/o/o****/o/o/o/**

**Author's Notes:**  
_This was originally going to be one huge 20kw+ part, but my muse-o-matic took a small vacation and left me with only 13kw, so there will be a chapter eight and it will be the final one. Probably. What's to look forward to? Well, i guess an Amazon ass kicking would be obvious, wouldn't it? Beyond that, I ain't telling. Surprises are half of what keep you coming back and I do my best to deliver_

Jian; _Your classic Chinese sword. It has a straight edge, unlike a katana. Been around for just about forever. I want one. More information can be had on Wikipedia._

Agami; _The cutest Japanese sounding abbreviated form of Agamemnon I could come up with, inspired by Halo's Cortona._

Blaster Launcher; _Heheheheh..._

_If you talk to anybody in fukufics IRC, that person most likely helped me to one exent or another making this fic a better work. Special thanks to **Quizer** for the editing, **DT**, **DCG** and **Yarrow** for continuity and plot work._

A note to ffnet;_ Seriously, your text filtering crap is getting old. I have to resort to _**/o/o/o****/o/o/o****/o/o/o/ **_as scene breaks because I can't get the line break function to work anymore and your text filtering treats us like 2 year olds. Once something better comes along (casts a sidelong glance at Stace-chan) I'm gone._


	8. Chapter 8

**Heir to the Empire**  
Part 8, Final  
By _Ozzallos _

**S**kill versus power.

Kasumi, Akane and a rather limp Nabiki were watching this age old question play out in front of them as four Amazon warriors tore into each other across their property, systematically reducing the grass they danced upon to tilled earth. The first pair was clad in form fitting black leather armor imbued with power that easily eclipsed the martial artists of Nermia, including that of patriarchs Soun Tendo and Genma Saotome.

Their timely intervention had resulted in two man-shaped craters imbedded deep into the earth.

The other pair of Amazons weren't quite as powerful, but the decades spent all alone in the night with nothing but the company of youma intent on consuming their immortal souls had honed their skill to a molecular edge. Potion had only endured forty years of that torturous existence, but that forty would have been more than enough to press Ranma Saotome to his limits, had he been there. Wax, on the other hand would have flattened him without so much as breaking a sweat. _She_ had endured over _four hundred_ years in the demonic void and would have easily been the Amazon's preeminent martial artist if not for the fact that their sisters were trying to kill her and Potion at that very moment.

A stilettoed roundhouse kick sliced in the air where the four hundred year old ex-Amazon's head resided less than a fraction of a second ago, neatly removed from the path of the strike by a quick back-step and slide right to avoid the follow up combination. The fists blurred in and Wax's hand snapped into the attack, immobilizing the dominatrix' offensive and pulling her through on its own momentum. Super power did not equal super balance and Wax brought a vicious elbow down into the Amazon's exposed back while blasting her spine with a spike of ki, sending her into the earth with a sickening crunch. Dust and debris obliterated any visibility within the strike zone as the leathered Amazon ate five three meters of dirt from within her own personal crater from which Wax walked out of the cloud at unhurried gait.

One brainwashed super powered leather clad Amazon down.

Now if only she would _stay_ down.

The Tendo sisters broke from Wax to Potion, watching as theteal haired womanput the finishing touches on a particularly devastating aerial combination. It held no less than eight lethal maneuvers, any one of which were guaranteed to rip the life from the unfortunate victim they were inflicted upon. As it was her Amazon's neck whipped around with a meaty crack, sending the opponent to the ground in a lifeless heap. Potion gave the unnatural angle of the woman's neck the barest of glances as she rejoined her sister in arms. Both joined on another at the center of the Tendo court yard, giving one another the barest of smiles before turning back to the field of battle.

They both knew what was coming next.

The dust was barely settling, but both girls could sense the rising power levels from within like a flat line slowly creeping back up. Likewise, the inert Amazon to their left spasmed suddenly. Wax snarled, quite familiar with the dark magics that animated their bodies. They weren't just leather clad dominatrix Amazons anymore. They were _undead_ leather clad dominatrix Amazons.

_At least they were as long as they wore that damn fuku armor,_ she amended with silent venom. Potion's Amazon sat up suddenly as if she had just recovered from a mental reboot. The off angle of her neck would have almost made the sight comical if not for the fact that it was their third time through. Her hands floated up to the skewed cranium, taking a firm grasp of it and violently snapping it back to its proper orientation. With her head pointed back to its proper alignment, the Amazon brought herself back to her full height and stared back into the settling dust behind her. From it strode the other, apparently having dug herself out of her makeshift plot none the worse for the wear. Even her shiny leather was spotless, Wax noted with some dismay.

The four faced off once more and the Amazon Dominatrix tensed to reengage the mortal brethren. Potion mentally grimaced. Wax and herself were fast and skilled, but these women… _That damn magical armor made them juggernauts!_ No matter how many times they were brought down, they kept getting back up and she knew it was only a matter of time before that unnatural endurance exceeded their--

"ENOUGH!"

All eyes swiveled over to the white haired Amazon elder standing on the Tendo property wall. "Balm, Gloss! Stop toying with them!" She then directed her attention back to the mortal Amazonian warriors. "Tell us the location of The Serenity now or you will suffer _most_ grievously."

Wax affected a disinterested look. All in all, two super powered undead leather clad Amazon dominatrix were nothing more than par for the course after four hundred years of banishment. Even so, she knew she was only human. She could pound them into the ground another fifty times, but their ability to absorb damage seemed limitless. She'd eventually get tired and after that… _Whatever_, she thought as her grim mental smile made its way to the surface. Potion watched it form and adopted it as her own. If they were going down, they were going to make these bitches work for it.

"Suffer?" The black haired warrior scoffed in mandarin. "They don't have don't have what it _takes_ to make us suffer."

The elder's wrinkled face took on a cold smile. "Perhaps not." She gestured to the empty wall to either side of her. "But something tells me _they_ might." Shadows gathered along the ledge, flowing along it like ominous clouds that condensed into flowing humanoid figures. The figures solidified, revealing the forms of forty eight more leathered Amazonian warriors whose colorful hair clashed with the blackness that fit them like a second skin. The old woman looked entirely too satisfied with herself. "Tell us where she is and we'll make yours a quick death. Maybe."

Potion glanced at Wax and cracked her knuckles. "Less talk. More action."

The Elder Amazon snarled, but her rage quickly transformed to vengeful satisfaction. "So be it. Serenity will return to find her pets burnt to--"

"HOLD, FOWL SORCEROUS!"

The ancient woman's' head snapped around as the Tendo property gates swung open violently, allowing twenty odd figures clad in full samurai field armor to sweep into the yard, enveloping the pair of women she had been seconds away from obliterating in a professionally orchestrated multicolored ring of ceremonial armor. Two figures strode at an easier pace behind the troop of samurai, taking up station between their ranks.

The wall-borne elder who simply stared. She couldn't help it. The last time she'd seen honest to God samurai on the field of battle had to have been a couple hundred years ago,_ at least_.

"Retreat from whence you came, malevolent witch, lest the most noble House of Kuno and the host of the Rising Sun banish you by force!" The elder's boggling eyes snapped from the platoon to the speaker, a teen who couldn't have been more than eighteen years old. Next to him was a girl, slightly younger but sharing many of the same sharp features as the young man. _Obviously brother and sister_, she noted silently. If the brother's impromptu speech had taken her back, his sister's garb was like a club of deja'vu. Unlike the tradition black silk hamak he wore, she was clad head to toe in black leather. Black boots, black gloves, black bustier… Even a black whip.

"Indeed, shriveled harlot." The sister continued with distain, causing the elder to imperceptibly twitch. "While your minion's choice in fashion is to be applauded, do not think that will stop us from forcibly removing your person from the premises."

Two hundred years of Amazonian discipline snapped back into place, and the elder Nair brushed past the incredulity of the moment. The sister- Kodachi, if she remembered the reports correctly –was insane, but of little threat. Her brother Kuno, however... Her eyes narrowed on the sheathed katana. It was an Artifact. A minor artifact to be sure, the Elder dissimilated, but an artifact of power nonetheless. In fact, they _all_ had artifacts of power, she noted as she probed the ring of samurai. A sword here, a breastplate there. All things considered, a formidable strike force had been assembled to oppose the destruction of Serenity's puppets, and by a teenage boy, no less. Nair's wrinkled lips turned up into thin smile.

_But not formidable enough._

"Few court death so wantonly, male." She hissed in perfect Japanese, conveying her lethal intentions clearly. "But if you and your sister choose this corrupt patch of real estate to die, then the Joketsuzoku Amazon shall oblige."

"I think not." Tatewaki Kuno snorted, dismissing the Elder's statement with all the grandeur that only the insane could produce when confronted by superior numbers and firepower. "The Blue Thunder of House Serenity will ensure no harm befalls thee servants of the silver-hued Goddess!"

Taking their cue, all twenty samurai under his command drew steel, presenting a bladed wall to their Amazon counterparts perched atop the high ground. A subtle ring vibrated through the afternoon air as the various katana settled into their defensive strike positions. The Elder now frowned, but not from lack of confidence. It was a _lack_ of challenge prompting her disappointment now. For all their enchantments and potential skill, her sisters were now so far beyond them in terms of power that crushing them would be even less gratifying than that of the demon spawn they protected. In the end, she simply shook her head.

"Then your demon queen will find little more than cinders to mark your remains." She stated, nodding to her force of leather clad force along the wall.

The Tendos watched in horror as the Amazons raised their hands, pointing them into the circle as shadows gathered, coalescing along their arms and into their hands. The dark energies grew into an angry ball and only a fool could ignore the combined potential of fifty such held in restraint for just the right moment. Kuno cast a glance at his sister, who smiled insanely back, prompting him to draw his own blade for the first time. It glittered in the afternoon sun as Kodachi unfurled her whip. Likewise, whatever their internal thoughts, the line of samurai remained a disciplined wall of protection around the battered pair of Amazon refugees.

Akane could feel it. So could Nabiki. Even Kasumi. The destructive potential held in check had reached its peak, causing the very air to vibrate around them. They were all going to die. There was nobody there to save them. Not Ranma. Not Ryoga. Not—

"Wipe them out. _All of them_."

Fifty shadow bolts released simultaneously, streaking into the ring of samurai. It actually took less than a fraction of a second for the molten shadows to cover the point blank range they had been fire at, detonating spectacularly on target. Sunlight seemed to fade out, as if the daylight had suddenly been blotted out while the strike zone was engulfed by a sick pulsating shadowy blob that devoured all life around it. Akane's mouth hung open wide as the shadows continued to boil with crackling power, obscuring what little undoubtedly remained of Wax, Potion, Tatewaki, Kodachi and their troop of samurai. It took another thirty seconds for the angry reaction to finally admit sunlight, and what remained caused nearly everybody to fall over.

Kuno, his sister and the Samurai guard remained unflinching in their positions with Potion and Wax at their center. The Amazon Elder boggled again. Like the sisters across the yard, she knew there was no way they could have withstood the destructive force unleashed upon— Nair's thought process froze as the shadows cleared, fully revealing the group…

…And their new additions. Interspersed between the armor of the samurai were at least nine colorful fuku clad girls, two more males and finally the silver haired demon herself. One of the slighter girls with dark purple hair pulled an exotic polearm down from its overhead position and the remains of the shadow attack evaporated entirely.

Beside her, a woman with flowing teal hair and a dark green fuku turned to the armed girl with a disapproving look. "Now what have we told you about vocalizing your techniques, Hotaru-chan?"

The one labeled Hotaru blinked curiously before nodding. "Sorry, Michiru-mama. 'Silence Wall.'"

A similarly clad blonde with a short crop of hair smiled with approval. "Better."

"_SERENITY!"_ The Amazon Elder spat, her brain finally piecing together what had just occurred. In reality this was exactly what she had been hoping to do—draw the demon out into the open… Just she hadn't expected an entourage to come riding in with her, let alone at the last minute to save her minions from their excruciating fates.

The silver haired Serenity in question stepped to the forefront of the samurai ranks and the Senshi followed her lead, arraying themselves around the samurai circle. Ranma favored the Kunos with a skeptical look, then glanced back to her Amazons at core of Tatewaki's ranks and finally the Amazon aggressors around her.

"Girl trouble again, Kuno?"

The Kuno smiled confidently from his deep bow. "Nay your highness. We were just about to eject these peasants from fiery Akane Tendo's property."

"You were inches from annihilation, male braggart!" Nair bristled from her wall top perch, clearly incensed by the claim that the young man even had a prayer of coming out of that attack alive without intervention. Tatewaki favored her with a bored look.

"And yet you fall into my snare." He returned arrogantly. "Wisdom truly does not follow age as it would appear."

"YOUR _TRAP?!"_ She hopped off the wall in fury, waving her cane at him menacingly. "You willing stood in line to be slaughtered like sheep!"

Ranma looked from Elder to Kuno with mounting incredulity. Oh, there was no doubt it would have been a slaughter just like the elder said. She _felt_ the power rebounding off Saturn's silence wall as they teleported in… But where in the _hell_ had he gotten honest to God samurai from? From the party?! She had studied the armored platoon as she stepped through their lines. They weren't amateurs. Every single one of them knew how to hold a weapon and would stare down fire without so much as _flinching_. That still didn't change the fact that every single on of them- adopted amazons included –were a combat liability. Give em a few suits of plate like Ryoga and they could deal, but for now…

"Need a favor, Kuno. An important one."

The upperclassman turned royal master of arms, broke from his staring contest with the elder. "Indeed, what does my Queen require?"

"This is gonna get messy." Ranma made a vague gesture, indicating the opposition surrounding them. "Get 'Kane and the Tendos out of here. My parents and the girls back here too."

Tatewaki seem to ponder her words for a moment before assenting to her orders. "While it pains me to depart the field of battle, I shall hasten the evacuation of our less durable brethren. By your leave?"

Ranma nodded and Kuno stepped back to his Samurai, relaying their new orders. Even as the ranks shifted, the Martial Arts Queen turned her full attention back to the Elder before her and frowned mentally. _Yay, another old mummy_, she noted sarcastically to herself. This one was slightly taller than Cologne with peppered white on black hair. Just as dangerous too, no doubt. Instead of betraying that manifestation of doubt, the Saotome put on her annoying, overconfident smirk.

"Ya really can't expect me to marry all fifty of em, can ya?" The Elder blinked and Ranma's grin incessantly annoying grin grew. _Wait for it…_ "Cuz you just know we're gonna kick every last one of your asses."

Another blink from the elder and her face contorted with anger as the insult was rammed home. "You and yours will die here and now! Blood will run in the streets and consecrate the very ground you stand upon!"

Pluto stepped up next to her best friend, the key balanced easily on her left shoulder. "Seriously, you people are oh for a thousand against the Queen here. What makes you think you'll do any better today?"

"Fifty of our best and the blessing of Beryl, cursed whore." Nair growled, bringing her own staff to an offensive ready position and sighting straight through Ranma's torso. The remaining fifty of her troupe subtly shifted stances, tensing for the first move even as Kuno finished rounding up the last of his charges to escort them from the field of battle. All that remained now were the Senshi, Tux, Ryoga and Ranma herself staring down four to one odds.

All in all, Ranma Saotome-Serenity almost considered it fair. While there was no doubt she and Setsuna could take out the bulk of their force, the girls would have a harder time without the clear memories of their former lives and the combat training that went with it. Combine that with the need to limit property damage and new armor the Amazons wore, they might actually get a workout.

The silver haired pig tailed martial artist shrugged as the thoughts flashed through her head and the strategy that came with it. Time to get this party—

"DESTROY THEM!!!"

"_Dark Domination Bolt!"_

"Garnet Ball!"

Another fifty shadow bolts roared in, only to ablate off of another energy barrier, this one assembled by Pluto herself. Black power roiled across its surface until expending itself entirely on the Mistress of Time's impenetrable defense. She lowered the heart-tipped staff and the red jewel at its tip faded from bright crimson to dull red. "Don't learn too well, do they, Senny?"

"If the past three years have been any indication, nope." Ranma shook her head in mock disappointment before turning over her shoulder to the Senshi at her back. "Murcury, Venus, Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Tux will occupy the hicks on the wall. Pluto, Uranus, Neptune and Ryoga will take 'em down hard, Got it?"

"What about you, Mother?" Moon stepped to her side, concern playing across her face. A feral smile greeted her in return.

"Oh me?" She turned back toward the waiting elder, cracking her knuckles. "Let's dance, old mummy."

The Amazon Elder's staff twirled through the air in response to the challenge. "Indeed we shall. TAKE THEM!"

The waiting Amazon ring collapsed inward with the command while the Senshi exploded outward, meeting in the center to engage one another in a magical girl the magical apocalypse.

"_Forlorn Lash!"_

"_Venus Love Me Chain!"_

Two whips flared into existence as the first pair of combatants engaged, followed shortly thereafter by the remainder of the opposing female contingents. The blonde's line of golden hearts intercepted a tendril of shadowy death as the whips raked across one another, causing life and shadow energies to rebound off one another violently. Even as Minako considered pressing into an offense, two other Amazon's snaked around her flank, one drawing a dark rapier that seemed to waver in and out of existence while the other used the hooked dagger of her armor's summoning. The blonde whipped her golden lash around in desperate defense as a blue haired Amazon lunged in with its blade, only to meet dark blue fuku and her glowing short sword. Sparks cascaded off the deflection and Haruka pressed her attack, allowing Venus to concentrate on the neon green haired dominatrix with the whip.

The uneven odds weren't treating Moon, Mercury, Mars or Saturn much better, forcing the girls to improvise a tight defensive ring as their more experienced counterparts ducked through and around it, taking to evening the odds the best they could. Usagi was struggling with crystal staff in her hands, its weight simultaneously foreign in her hands but familiar to the murky depths of memory as she twirled it through the air. It was amazing enough she was keeping up with the two Amazons that pressed her guard at the moment. _Barely._ Another ethereal blade sliced in and she rolled away, prompting the Amazon's partner to follow up with her own lunge, only to have the strike intercepted by a bladed polearm. Only a hasty retreat saved this particular Amazon as Saturn's silence glaive seemed to carve through the Amazonian weapon, eating through its shadow and almost beheading her. That minor victory was short lived and the Senshi of Silence quickly found the tables turned as the disparity of numbers shifted onto her. A green blur swooped in on the Amazon's flank and two went down, flattened by precision strikes administered by a heart shaped staff. One of Setsuna's victims tried to regain her balance only to find a heeled boot imbedded in her abdomen a moment later, sending the leather clad warrior into a nearby wall.

_CRAaaaSH!_

Ranma Saotome broke from her staring match with the elder to find the Princess of Pluto flowing through another combination that helped relieve Mercury of her four to one odds. The green haired Senshi took two out near simultaneously, efficiently opening the guard of one and unleashing a brutal combination into her opponent's cranium before disengaging and using her next target's own attacking momentum against it. Even as the silver pigtailed girl blinked with slight surprise, her brain was already cataloging the moves and noting no less than six different martial arts styles employed in her offense.

The martial artist shook her head with no small measure of amazement, then frowned. "Set-chan's been holding out on me."

"Hmmf." The sound rapidly brought Ranma's attention back onto the Elder in front of her. "I can only hope you provide me with as much entertainment before your inevitable dismemberment."

A crooked smile seemed to flow across Ranma's face as the girl tapped into her vast ki reservoir. The old woman's eyes narrowed on her as she felt the spike rise. "I think I'll manage, old prune."

"You dance with your death, _fool._"

That was Ranma's last warning as the elder blurred in, instantly pressing the Anything Goes heir to the extreme edge of her abilities. There was no slow ramping up of speed or skill like other martial arts challenges. Nair's cane was almost insubstantial as it was thrust into Ranma, forcing the pigtailed girl into a complex aerial evasion. The elder followed her through the maneuver and it was everything Ranma could do to keep the point from impaling her outright until her feet touched the earth once more. Her thoughts of retaking the offensive were interrupted as another Amazon sought to take advance of her focus on the elder, and only a last minute dodge saved the martial artist from being screwed by a spear tip. Her partner in leather moved in with a dagger for a quick slice, only to be flattened by a bolt of super compressed hard water.

"You should be more careful, your highness." Neptune spared her queen a slight smile as she blurred by, laying into the remaining Amazon who was still staring at her soaked, unconscious sister. Ranma gave her a quick nod and turned her attention back on the advancing Amazon Elder just in time to see the next attack in progress.

"Serpent's Windmill!"

Earth exploded beneath the point of her staff, which was quickly whipped into a spinning arc as masses of rock broke free of the earth. The old woman's ki quickly caught the flying stone and the focused earthen cyclone toward her opponent while charging the debris itself with unstable power. Ranma barely even had time to marvel at the new technique before improvising a hasty counter.

"Moko Takabisha!"

Pure confidence roared out to meet the incoming fragments, detonating charged rock as it was consumed by the Saotome's attack. Still, a few fragments made it past the last second defense. Ranma easily dodged three of the stone fragments but missed one, which promptly exploded less than half a meter from her head. The pigtailed girl was thrown to the ground like a sledgehammer and spent a precious few seconds shaking the impact off while ringing filled her ears. The battlefield came back into focus and she didn't like what she saw. The elder had declined to follow through on the attack, and was instead grinning insufferably. All in all, it was a disturbing sight for that reason alone.

The old woman simply shook her head, tsking Ranma like a small child. "My, I haven't had this much amusement in ages." The grin faded quickly, and her countenance grew darker. "It's really a shame that you won't last much longer."

"You old mummies really need to stop underestimating me." Ranma sniffed, only to find the Elder unmoved by the comment.

"Hardly." She shook her head with mock disappointment as the magical girl conflict raged around them. "You are admittedly a skilled demon, but if this is your best…"

"I _am_ the best."

"In a very small pond." The elder sneered back, bringing her staff back to bear on the martial artist, who was tracked the rise in her ki easily. "Or do you think this quaint little city of yours is all there is to the world?"

The remark glanced off of Ranma's impenetrable wall of confidence with a smirk. "Saffron would say otherwise. Didn't see you or Cologne doing much about him."

"Ha!" The Saotome arched her eyebrow at the chortling Elder. "Is that truly how you measure your worth as a martial artist? Every elder on the council is no less than two hundred and fifty years old and masters of more disciplines than you can ever hope to dream of, whelp. It was _unnecessary_ to deal with Saffron."

"Unnecessary?" The martial artists gave narrowed on the elder as the new information came to light. Of course, it would be unnecessary for _them_ to save his friends, but all of Jusenkyo was threatened by the--

"What do you think would have happened?" The old woman returned testily. "I'll tell you: the demigod would have occupied the springs for a few days, transformed and returned to his damnable mountain." A wicked grin slowly spread across her face, sending a chill up Ranma's spine. For once, it wasn't because of the unsettling sight the image created before it disappeared into a blur of motion.

The pigtailed girl's eyes widened as a voice suddenly came behind, and she rolled out instinctively as air sliced through the space her head had just occupied. "Do you actually think you even _touched_ what the former Elder Cologne was capable of, let alone myself?"

Another blur and Ranma found herself desperately evading the cane while her opponent faded in and out around her, attacking from nearly every vector. Her brain chewed on the fact that these weren't the ki illusions of the Splitting Cat Hairs technique. It was raw speed; speed she was barely keeping up with. The tip of her cane sliced in and Ranma was forced to deflect it this time.

"_Ahhhhaaaghh!"_ She snatched her hand back from the block as it was seared with needling pain. The distraction almost got her impaled by the next strike, but two years of Nermian chaos served her well and she was in the air, twisting away from another lethal combination. Ranma Saotome landed in a defensive crouch, only to find the Elder waiting for her.

"We hold back to prolong our life spans, hell spawn." The old Amazon explained calmly, sighting the walking implement down Ranma's forehead. "Saffron alone was not a sufficient threat to display our fullest measure. The greatest enemy of the Amazons, however, _is_."

She took a step forward. Ranma Saotome-Serenity took an uncertain step back.

This was going to be a little harder than she first thought.

* * *

_"Bakusai Tenketsu!"_

Rock was torn asunder as Ryoga Hibiki's finger found a minor ley line within the Earth, flooding it with a spike of angry ki. The reaction cascaded into the ground and through other minor fractures, destroying their bonds with violent force and showering the hapless leather clad Amazonian dominatrix with stone fragments. Her own shadow whip couldn't defect even a fraction of them and she took several chunks of the earth at high speeds, stopping her attacking advance cold.

It didn't, however, stop the other two Amazons attacking his now exposed left flank.

The lost Boy ducked under the first shiny leather boot aimed at his head, but missed the follow up as her partner fell from on high, laying a powerful axe kick into his back. A normal Amazon- even ones as proficient as his current attackers -would have normally been swatted aside by one of the world's most powerful martial artist. This was, after all, one of the few people who could spar with the great Ranma Saotome on a more or less even footing. These Amazon's however, had magical armor. The kick cracked down with the full force or gravity and magically enhanced strength, sending Ryoga to his knees buckling. Her partner had recovered from the miss and laid another high heel in his chin, sending stars blasting across his vision even as it sent him rocketing across the dojo in an uncontrolled tumble.

Ryoga shook his head, coughing up blood and dust as he attempted to right himself. His blurring vision stabilized and quickly locked onto his two attackers, strolling towards him at an unhurried gait while the melee raged around them. Anger fueled his resolve, and he slid back into his attack stance. _Goddamn Amazons,_ he fumed. They wanted his head and that of poor, sweet Akane's. There was only one person at fault for that.

"I'VE SEEN HELL BECAUSE OF YOU, RANM--_OOooOF!"_

Another cloud of dust barreled across the Tendo courtyard and into him at high speed, blowing him off balance and sending him back to the ground. The weight of the attack remained on his person even after the jarring motion stopped, and Ryoga was mildly surprised that the follow up didn't come in the form of a leather wrapped female after the dust cleared.

"RANMA?!"

The silver haired girl blinked, clearly fighting through her own dazed state. Ryoga got back to his feet helping the girl shakily regain her balance as she wiped a trickle of blood from her mouth. It went well with the numerous bruises darkening across her face and arms. Ryoga considered the girl in ragged Chinese silks for a moment before smiling maliciously.

"You look like shit, Ranma."

"You ain't lookin' so hot yourself, Pork-butt." She retorted, then turned back downrange of her arrival and the Elder slowly gliding toward the duo. "'Cides, didn't I tell you to use the armor?"

"Hmmf." Ryoga snorted, turning back to his own opponents. "Make you a deal. I'll use your toys if you become a magical girl."

The pigtailed martial artist scowled, never turned back toward him. "Ain't gonna happen."

"Likewise." The boy returned, cracking his knuckles in preparation for another round of punishment. "Betcha you become a magical girl before I use your armor."

A smile cracked Ranma's battered face and she stepped back into her own loose stance. "You're on, P-chan."

The Hibiki gave the girl one last look over his shoulder. "And don't think I'm letting you off just because the Amazons are kicking your ass. I've _still_ seen hell because of you!"

Ranma rolled her eyes as she felt Ryoga leave her back, whispering. "You and me both, bacon-brains." _And now back to the main event_, she thought sarcastically, turning her full attention back on the mummy before her. "Is that the best you got? Hell, I barely even felt that."

"Resilient _and_ annoying." Nair frowned, twirling her staff lazily. "Two aspects I find particularly annoying in demons."

The silver haired martial artist struck an arrogant pose in spite of the throbbing pain pulsing across various bodily points. "Flattery will getcha nowhere, you old--"

"_Serenity-sama."_

Ranma blinked and the distraction almost cost her life once again as the elder took advantage of the lapse. A ki-bolt blazed out from the tip of her cane and the blast nearly took her head off at close range. Even as she backpedaled away from the encroaching elder, Ranma racked her brain trying to figure where that voice had just come from. It hadn't come from--

"My apologize for the interruption, you Highness."

Ranma lost focus again, nearly being cut in half by a crescent of cold ki, causing super cooled air swirled around her. This time Ranma got a distinct impression of exactly who was behind the summons.

"_Agami?"_

"Yes, your Highness." The voice seemed to float through her consciousness. "Ordinarily, I would not disturb you during high level negotiations, but an item of interest has been brought to my attention."

"Pay attention, hell spawn!" The Elder's demand was accompanied by the thunder clap of air, impacting invisibly across Ranma's left cheek. The force snapped her head back violently, but the heir rolled with the strike, twisting into a ready, albeit painful crouch after skidding wildly back and out of range of Nair's follow on combination.

The Saotome wiped a trickle of blood from her nose and focused back on the presence echoing in her skull. "How in the heck are… nevermind." The last thing she needed at the moment was an in depth explanation on the how a super dreadnaught AI was broadcasting into her brain. "What's so damn important, anyway?"

"While my capacity to track deep space movement is limited at present, I was able to tie into Terra's own array, primitive as it may be." The AI explained as Ranma kept a sharp eye on the closing Elder. "By combining that detection with Sol's native radio frequency output, I was able to approximate a limited form of hyper wave--"

"The point, Agami."

She almost felt the Agamemnon's apology as it continued. "I have detected a massive EM shadow approaching Earth at approximately point four the speed of light." The elder jumped in and Ranma reengaged, attempting to fend off Nair's ki charged staff hand to hand with painful results. It was all she could do to track the internal dialogue within her head as she desperately fought to keep it on her own shoulders. "Initial data indicates that something very large is moving in-system under heavy cloak, possibly three times my original size as indicated by the shadow."

Ranma Saotome abandoned her melee with the elder, leaping well out of range to the walls in order to absorb this new information. She settled into a low crouch and waited for the elder to renew her attack.

"Something large…?

"The size of the footprint indicates a high mass vessel." Agami continued her report. "While I do not have a proper Hyper Wave array at my disposal, I estimate it to be a dreadnaught class or better; a warship, undoubtedly."

Ranma Saotome dug her fingers into the stone wall she was perched atop, peeling away stone. She was not getting _any_ breaks today. Hell, the last time she had received a break was… The martial arts queen shook her head. Best not to dwell on that particularly sore topic. "Okay, ta summarize something very big and very nasty is headin' towards us."

"Affirmative, your Highness."

"And when's it gonna get here?" She asked, almost knowing she wasn't going to like the answer.

"Thirty minutes, assuming constant vector and speed."

Ranma twitched, looking out over the Amazon-Magical Girl turf war still raging. Her girls had been witling down the Amazon's slowly, but they had been taking a beating in the process. Unless she missed her guess, the odds were down to almost two to one, all while managing to keep the conflict confined to the dojo property. Oh, sure, Nabiki was gonna hand her a fat bill for damages by the time they were done with this mess, but no other innocents had been involved… Yet. But was that good enough? Ranma scoffed mentally. _NOOOooooOOO_. Let's throw in a giant spaceship! Just to liven things up! The pigtailed girl ground her teeth together irritably.

As if sensing her master's mood, Agami continued, "I apologize for not detecting it sooner. The Moon's own arrays are currently inoperative and even with Terra's hardware, resolution outside Mars is spotty, at best."

"Ain't your fault." Ranma grumbled. No, that honor would go to whatever God was using her as its own personal chew toy. "Set-chan getting all this?"

"Affirmative, your highness." Setsuna's own voice cut through her consciousness. "Agami's copying me on the sideband."

Ranma glanced out across the field of melee and found the Princess of Pluto disengaged, eyes locked onto her own as she took a moment to comprehend the new development and a course of action. Both aspects of Saotome-Serenity came into quick agreement as they took in the conflict below and weighed it against the new threat looming on the horizon.

"We're out of time. Fast and hard, Set-chan."

A grim smile spread across Pluto's lips and she turned back to the embattled Senshi, opening up a channel to the others' imbedded communications arrays. "Change of plans. Screw the property damage and drop the hammer, girls."

"About time!" Jupiter grumbled as she extricated herself from a three pronged Amazonian attack, touching the glistening blue jewel mounted on her fuku's pink ribbon. It was an action mirror simultaneously by the other Senshi as they flared with golden power, forcing the Amazon raiders back.

"Moon…"  
"Mercury…"  
"Venus…"  
"Mars…"  
"Jupiter…"  
"Saturn…"  
"Uranus…"  
"Neptune…"

"_...Aurora Eternal, Makeup!"_

When the Amazon Dominatrix were finally able to open their eyes beyond squinting, they found the impossible. Each and every bruise their opponents had taken was healed and their fukus… Instead of the short skirts that had incurred ragged battle damage over the last twenty minutes, flowing, knee length dresses sporting their planet's primary colors adorned the girls now. The short neck ties were all but gone now, in favor of long, elegant ribbons that wrapped around their hosts elegantly. Of course, the fierce glow light blue glow surrounding every one of them caused the Amazon's further pause.

"Wow, I like this much better!" Usagi beamed with wonder, pirouetting with the new look.

"I dunno…" Minako frowned lightly. "The originals had flash. Sex appeal."

"Just like you to show some leg to every perv in town." Rei griped, earning a shrug from the guardian of Venus.

"Hey, if you've got it, flaunt it." She retorted with a smile.

"Hussy."  
"Prude."  
"Slut."  
"Old maid."

"AHEM." Both girls turned around to find all the Senshi and Pluto in particular staring at them. A glance over their shoulders revealed their opponents in a similarly confounded state. Setsuna arched an eyebrow. "While I personally agree with Minako, this isn't the time or place. We've got some ass to kick and little time to kick it in."

"About how much time?" Ami asked, ever the analytical sort.

"Fifteen minutes."

"Oh well, that's more than enough." Setsuna turned to find The Senshi of Uranus grinning evilly. Cradled in her hands was a menacing weapon of smooth curves, metallic blue skin and a big hole at the end of the barrel. A very _big _hole. In fact, Haruka's smile was almost as wide as the bore itself.

"Uranus…" Pluto reverted to her formal title, shaking her head as if disappointed with a small child. "The Blaster Launcher. Where… did you get it?"

The short haired blonde rolled her eyes as if it were the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. "The Moon Armory, of course."

"The same armory I told you _not_ to remove it from?" Sailor Uranus flipped a switch in response to the accusation, and the subtle whine of heavy weaponry warming up permeated the air. Setsuna rubbed her temples to preemptively ward off the impending migraine. "Neptune, maybe you can elaborate on why your spouse isn't allowed to play with guns?"

Haruka turned to her lover, only to find the wavy haired Senshi now several feet removed from her person with a worried, almost sickly look. "Michiru...?"

"I..." The Guardian of Neptune stuttered and Uranus moved toward her, unconsciously bringing the barrel of the monstrous device to bear on her mate. Michiru paled and took a nervous step back. "Maybe you should, um, put that away... I seem to remember you weren't... quite so proficient with guns... back then."

Uranus blinked at her, then back at Pluto who obliged with a translation. "You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. In fact, you tended to torch everything around the barn, _but_ the barn."

The Senshi blinked once more before simply shrugging. She then turned back to the waiting Amazon's with an evil smile. "Well it's just my luck then that there's a lot of stuff around the barn to burn."

"A mere weapon will not save you, demon spawn!" One of the braver Amazons, this one with light blue hair braided into a complex coil, stepped forward. Her confidence seemed to bolster the others, who growled their agreement.

"No?" Sailor Venus turned away from her staring match with Rei and pulled a glistening crystalline blade from subspace, light refracting spectacularly within its roman style edge. The weapon itself was somewhat at odds with the golden whip pulsating in the opposite hand. "How about this?"

The Amazon tried her best to look bored. "Try harder."

Minako took on a malicious smile and gave the sword a sharp jerk. The movement triggered a reaction and the crystal blade itself fell into a line of discreet segments; almost triangular razor blades that fell into coils on the ground around her. Both hands now held weapons of eerie similarity; one a magical whip of golden hearts, the other made of molecularly sharp crystalline razors. The grin widened.

"Let's do this."

That was all it took for the three Amazons to charge the blonde, who was instantly in motion herself, surrounded by arcs of gold and streaming light. Crystal screamed off across the shrouded blades of the leather clad dominatrix', who instantly found their numerically superior offence routed under Sailor Venus' lethal dance of magic and crystal.

Left at her back, Mercury pulled out her own weapon, what looked to be a gnarled four meter long wooden stave. Though shocked by her partner's sudden offensive, the Amazons were less than impressed by the blue haired girl's big stick. Two began to advance on Ami and she considered them for a moment before tapping the staff hard into the Earth.

"_Mercury Glacial Scythe, set up!"_

Air condensed rapidly around the top of the staff, swirling until it formed into a vaporous cloud. Her opponents stopped short with wide eyes as the cloud solidified into a wickedly curved blade of ice, two meters in length. The cold ice appeared to pulse, and a new voice was heard.

"Mercury Glacial Scythe, set up, stand-by."

Ami spun the scythe around, more to test its weight than to intimidate the women before her, even through it succeeded admirably at the latter. Truth be told, the Princess of Mercury had never wield such a weapon before, in combat or otherwise, but that didn't stop her from opening her fuku's uplink to the scythe's onboard AI to access the combat tutorial. With a mental nudge, she coaxed it into dumping the software package into her brain which in turn allowed her to pick up the niceties of magical scythe borne combat. The Senshi brought the weapon low and to the right, stepping into the first battle stance dictated by the tutorial. Unlike these arrogant women, she wasn't so prideful as to assume she knew all there was to know about a magical weapon simply by activating it. No, experience had taught her that even the fuku armor she wore now had taken her years to get used to. Regardless, she smiled mentally, the on board tutorial would be more than enough to deal with these magical girl amateurs.

The scythe rested into its lowered guard mere centimeters from the ground, allowing wisps of super cooled vapor to trail down the curved blade and chill the grass below.

"_Seal mode."_

The Scythe shuddered and a handle unfolded at an off angle from halfway up the weapons neck while a shorter, two pronged blade grew opposite of the main edge. Mercury took the newly formed handle and swung the glacial blade back slightly, waiting for her opponent's first move. She didn't have long to wait, if only because doing so made the Amazon in their fancy black latex power armor look like scared children. She wasn't an aggressive person by nature, and Ami's calm patience played well into her preferred style of combat-- Tactical. It was a game she played well and her opponents couldn't help but to step into it. Deep.

"Seal Mode, stand by."

The Princess of Mercury smiled as the weapon finished reconfiguring, and that was all it took to set the women before her off.

"_Forlorn Lash!"_

"_Dark Domination bolt!"_

Ami was around the black ball of energy even as it roared by, bringing the glistening scythe around in a low arc as she slid past it. She absently noticed her greatly enhanced speed and reaction times while she rolled through the maneuver, bringing the massive curved blade into its own ascension. The shadowy tendrils of the lash whipped by and she danced between its arcs, bringing the Mercury Glacial Scythe into full ascension over her first attacker. Already committed to her attack, the Amazon with pale green hair didn't stand a chance.

"Mercury Glacial Scythe, SEAL!"

The two meter blade of super dense ice pierced the woman's black armor and impaled her along its edge. The blade pulsed once and a layer of hard elemental frost snapped into place across the Amazon's skin, instantly freezing her into her attacking stance. The other Amazon's resolve faltered and Sailor Mercury took that split second to withdraw the scythe and spin around for the next strike. The Amazon's sister was only just beginning to form her second shadow bolt when the point of the blade punched through the blob of shadow and into her chest.

"SEAL!"

Another jacket of ice flashed across the second Amazon's skin, encasing her within the scythe's glacial prison. The Senshi withdrew the curved elemental talon once more and roman numerals faded into existence along both of her opponents foreheads.

"XI, sealed. XII, sealed." The Scythe intoned as it completed the operation.

"DIE HELL SPAWN!"

An extra dose of adrenaline blasted through Ami's body as she pivoted on a booted heal, narrowly avoiding a third attacker falling out of the sun. _Too close!_ The tactical portion of her brain screamed, protesting the fact that it had neither the time or distance to formulate a defense against the women who was already recovering from her miss while throwing the hooked shadow blade through another combination. Another thrust forward and Ami knew the Amazon was going to draw--

Two solid beams of energy carved the earth at her feet apart and lanced into the Amazon, ablating off her armor but dumping a large chunk of kinetic energy into her mass, blowing her back and into the ground. Mercury turned around to capture Rei's split second smile before the Senshi of Mars turned on her next target. The two softball sized silver spheres with digital red eyes floating high above her dispensing crimsons beams of carnage didn't go unnoticed either. They seemed to dart in and out of the melee picking out targets according to Mars' own commands and hammering them with precise megawatt range fire while she dispensed fiery justice as accorded by her planetary bindings. Beside her were Sailor Moon and Jupiter fending off the hand to hand opponents. Ami rejoined the trio and couldn't help but to marvel at how well the usually clumsy Usagi Tsukino handled her new moon staff, its crystal line deflecting attack after attack while Jupiter unloaded her thunder dragon into the advancing Amazons. Another strike streaked in for Moon and Mercury's Scythe was up. There was no way Moon would intercept that one in--

Moon reversed the grip and twisted the staff at each end, causing the weapon to fall into three distinct segments. She swung the now mobile weapon around in one fluid motion, ensnaring the shadowy sword aimed for her back, disarming the Amazon behind it and slamming her own multi-pronged attack back into the woman. Ami almost stumbled at the skill her leader just displayed. Either she had her own combat tutorial running or… She didn't even want to think about the alternative.

For her part, Sailor Uranus was getting frustrated. There was a battle royal raging all around her and the environment was definitely target rich, but nobody seemed to want to tangle with her. She swung the big blue weapon on an Amazon who looked like she might have been ready to take her on, only to watch the Dominatrix' eyes widen as its huge bore swung onto her. The Amazon froze for a split second before regaining her senses, opting to leap back into the melee rather than face the weapon in Haruka's hands.

"Get back here, dammit!" The Princess of Uranus swore, and took off after her. _What the hell good was a super weapon if you couldn't use it on anybody?!_

Across the rapidly deteriorating Tendo property, Ranma turned from the Senshi battle below to the Elder in front of her, the old crone's cane snaking slowly through the air as it were the rattle on the snake.

"An impressive trick." The old one admitted with a frown. "At this rate your summoned demons might actually win."

"What can I say?" Ranma Saotome smirked in spite of her own disheveled appearance, flipping her silver pigtail back over her shoulder. "They learned from the best."

"It will take more than cheap power ups to win this day, demon child." The Elder snorted, retaking her own attack stance. "And I suggest you use your own if you are to entertain me further. I have merely to break you and the rest will fall of their own accord."

"Well shit!" Ranma cocked her silvered head as if suddenly realizing something. "If all you have to do is talk your way to Elder, I'm a shoo-in!"

"_DIE!"_

Ranma Saotome instantly regretted the insult as the old woman was once again on her with overwhelming force. Even at Amiguriken speeds, the Elder's cane slipped through nearly imperceptible holes in her defense, searing her each time they made contact.

_Crack!_ Dislocated shoulder.

_Snap!_ Two ribs.

_Hiss!_ Two lacerations, bleeding.

The next attack snapped in past her defenses and literally exploded as a small ball of condensed ki was channeled through it and to her torso.

_BBOOOoooMM!_

In that moment, Ranma knew exactly three things: Pain, sky and ground; all in that order as she obtained fifty foot of altitude and took an uncontrolled plummet into the earth below. Her dazed stated didn't even last as long as it took to tumble, which she turned into a sliding defensive stance.

"_Your Highness!"_

The Silver haired martial artist turned just in time to find three Amazons leaping for her with shadowy weapon and death in their eyes. Ignoring her new injuries, she spun around on target--

_CRAaCK!Crack!CRAck!_

--Only to watch them explode out of the air as three bolts of plasma caught them at the apex of their attacks. Ranma turned down range to find the armored Tuxedo Kamen favoring his large broadsword gunblade with a smile as Ryoga held off the hand to hand attackers. Ranma gave him a thin smile back and turned back toward the elder, who hobbled toward her as if she had all the time in the world.

"Your minions are becoming rather bothersome." The Elder growled, retaking her attack stance. Ranma took the moment to pop her shoulder back into place, though there was nothing she could do about the ribs. Nair noticed the girl's painful grunt and the accompanying 'pop' with a smile. "It's time to end this."

"End?" A arrogant smile settled over the martial artists features. "We're just getting started."

"Please. You can't possibly--" The Elder's grin promptly failed as Ranma instantly wavered from existence. She reached out with ki enhanced senses and…

"YAMAKEN-SEN!" It was only three hundred years of practiced survival instinct that allowed the elder to roll out of the vacuum blade strike zone, narrowly missing being cleaved in two as they carved up the earth at her feet. "Or did you think Amazon-shu was the only game in town, old hag?"

Ranma landed and faded back out with those words. Said Old hag's head whipped around, wildly trying to ascertain the martial artists position when the lightest gust sent her guard spinning up. A lesser martial artist- that is to say one any less than a century old -wouldn't have intercepted the attack aimed at her back. The elder was, however, and rolled a save versus the quad damage 4d6 backstab known as the Venom White Snake Reliable Fist. Nair's cane came up and the pinpoint strikes rebounded across its length, giving her the split second need to evade the follow on combination. She sidestepped out and away as Ranma became visible once more. The Elder swiped the cane right, and readied her next attack when she noticed that annoying grin of hers sore to insufferable heights.

"_What?"_

Ranma simply nodded at the cane in her hands which was still smoking from the friction. Even as the Elder turned to examine it, the gnarled piece of wood parted into six sections, falling to the ground. Nair blinked. That cane was over two hundred years old. Made from the hardest of woods. Fortified by ki and spell.

Now it was nothing more than fire kindling.

The Amazonian Elder bowed her head. "Impressive. But I think we have played this game long enough."

"Oh, come on." The pigtailed girl huffed indignantly, ignoring the warm- undoubtedly crimson -trickle down her leg. "You ain't gonna stop just cuz I broke your little stick, are ya?"

"No," Nair, shook her head, still staring at the remains of her cane. "The time to banish you has come."

Ranma's mouth opened for a witty reply but the Elder was already streaking forward, a crackling line of lethal blue ki forming in her hands. Ranma folded her own ki in upon itself and vanished from sight once more. The crackling blade of blue ki sliced into where she had been and Ranma stepped in, ready for her next strike.

"_CRESTING BREAKING POINT!"_

Dread swept through Ranma, who was only starting to pull her own fist back when the elder's finger plunged into the ground unexpectedly, forcing the blue ki along imperceptible fractures in the Earth. _But not like Ryoga's_, she knew instantly as focused shockwaves blasted away from the old woman in the pattern of an eight point star, annihilating the ground in violent lines of fury. Ranma instantly diverted her own ki from offense to defense as stone spires blasted upwards around her, debris rushing to meet her at high speeds. The martial artist rode the wave of stone and used the transfer of kinetic energy to ride the shock up and out of the blast area. She recovered midair, only to find a pair of cold, calculating eyes waiting for her at altitude.

"_It ends."_

The Elder tucked herself into a ball and rolled through the air, her turquoise blue robes becoming a blur as she picked up speed. Ranma Saotome felt the elements snap into place as cold air cycled around the witch at high velocity from every vector. Time seemed to slow for the martial artist as she watched the new technique unfold before her very eyes. Icy vapor rushed around the turquoise blur and Ranma brought her hand up for a point blank Moko Takabisha, already knowing it was too late. Somewhere through the rush of wind, she heard the old crone call out her final attack.

"_GREATER SERPENT'S DETONATION!"_

**_BOOooOM!_**

The soul of ice the Amazon had been using clicked over to heated ki in an instant and the super cooled jet stream of ki laced air expanded outward at the speed of sound. The airflow had been shaped into nearly invisible coils of razor wire, exploding in every direction while catching the Martial Arts Queen like an eviscerating net. The angle at which the wall of air pressure hit her was the worst possible and she was caught on the underside, riding the coils into the ground at their fullest potential. The jagged grid cut into the ground furiously as the bulk of the attack impacted, forcing Ranma into the Earth with bone crushing force.

Rock settled around her and the martial artist's brain went through a rapid reboot, cycling from excruciating pain to unconsciousness to blurred vision that held a tint of red. Her consciousness fought to push the pain aside even as it began to catalog the myriad of likely injuries she had sustained. Still, she was still drawing breath- albeit painfully -which meant she could still fight. If she could fight, she could win. That is, if she could-- A high pitched crackling sound broke her thoughts, and Ranma pushed herself upright, only to find the Elder poised to strike with a lance of chi lightning sprouting from her hand a scant meter away.

"You will fall NOW!" The old crone lurched forward and the lightning came in at high speed along her hand. Ranma prepared for a last ditch evasion and--

_CRAaaCK!_

The Amazon's well honed survival instincts saved her once again as a heart tipped staff cleaved the earth down her line of attack, shattering a small patch of ground as flowing green hair dropped down behind the strike and into a crouch, considering her with the devils own red eyes.

"This is _my_ fight, demon! Be gone!" Nair hissed as the woman recovered from her crouch, tipping her staff back across her left shoulder.

"Let's wait for the Queen to catch her second wind, shall we?" The Princess of Pluto returned easily, interposing herself between her best friend and the assailant while Ranma regained her balance in a somewhat shaky manner. Pluto grimaced at her friend's condition, but kept her eyes on the smoldering elder.

Ranma Saotome shook off the remaining shock and steadied herself, only to find Setsuna standing guard while she recovered. _Dammit…_ the pigtailed girl fumed. Ranma knew she was good. The best even… Just not this time. As much as she hated to admit it, the elder was right; Three hundred years was one bitch of a deficit to make up for and that truth was finally beat into her the hard way. Anything Goes was a powerful style, but she just didn't have access to all the techniques the old ghoul was pulling out of her ass. Combined with three hundred years of experience to back her up and she just didn't have what it took. It was a sobering and downright unpleasant realization.

Ranma's eyes narrowed on the Elder, who seemed annoyed at having been kept from her prize. Not that Ranma was worried about Setsuna. She could hold her own, probably. How long had she been alive? Hell, she could probably order Pluto to take the old woman out and stand better than average odds of doing so, but this… this was personal now. Ranma wiped the multiple lines of blood trickling down her forehead, directing the line from her swollen eye. No, she was going to do this herself. Martial arts was out, much as she hated to admit it. Time didn't permit the Anything Goes final technique to regroup and think. She had all but spend her ki getting her ass kicked in an epic fashion, so what was left?

_Magic._

Her thoughts trailed off as her Queen Serenity aspect seized the concept, bringing it to the forefront of her mind. Memories began to play across her mind's eye.

Cutting down ranks of Siege Mecha.  
Healing her own generals on the field of battle.Repairing the  
Repairing the Ginzuishou, her ancient debt.  
Securing her throne through the Dagger Years.  
Terraforming Caladan.

_Sealing Beryl away forever._

Today, Ranma Saotome wasn't the best there was at martial arts. That honor went to the Old hag beyond Setsuna. But there was one thing she was the best at. One thing she had used to carve out and secure an empire spanning half the galaxy. One thing that her male mindset had been too arrogant to consider from the outset of the battle. All she had to do was figure out how to use it once more. For that, she had to let go. Who was dominant? Ranma Saotome or Queen Serenity? They were very nearly identical twins, separated by a vast gulf of experience. Serenity, a millennia old Queen, diplomat, mother and magic users. Founder of a vast empire. Ranma, genius heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, gender cursed teen and little in the way of social skills thanks to his upbringing.

There couldn't be any struggle for dominance if she was going to pull this off. She just _was_. Ranma closed her eyes and let the sounds of combat fade away. Setsuna would keep her safe. For now, she had to concentrate, because in a scant few minutes, the biggest warship the world had ever seen would be knocking on their very doors. Memories flashed and melted into others. The past and present collided. It still wasn't a seamless integration. There were still gaps, gaps that might stay there forever, but the gates were open. Who was dominate here? Ranma Saotome faded slightly as Serenity's memories came to the forefront. Neither was dominate, but there was focus. A shift. Had anybody asked her in that moment, she would have openly admitted fear. A couple thousand years worth of female persona began to dilute eighteen years of male identity, but not by force. Ranma would remain, but for now, _she_ was needed.

Ranma Saotome-Serenity opened her eyes and held out her hand, which suddenly flared to life. The blazing light cleared and Nair's eyes widened. Pluto never took her eyes off her, already knowing what had just happened. The Ginzuishou. The last pure crystal of a long dead world had been summon from Ranma's very soul and now floated just above the palm of her right hand. The glowing light and wash of power effectively stopped the magical girl conflict as all eyes turned upon the radiant silver haired girl.

Ranma smiled to herself and whispered, "Looks like you win, Ryoga."

She may have not had all her memories, but the Ginzuishou made for an _excellent _crutch. It was practically made of magic and she could see the patterns of often used spells from a lifetime ago floating within its matrix; almost as if the artifact was an extension of her own consciousness; a familiar muscle waiting to be flexed.

Long dormant power flared to life as Ranma's tattered silks evaporated, allowing a magical weave to wind its way across her body. Energy crackled across her skin as the crystal forced her magical bindings to the forefront, breaking through the haze of memories. In the end, the white lace mid length fuku, petty coat and thigh-high white high heel boots that had weaved itself around her body was merely a side affect of the resurrection of that power from an age long gone. It recognized its keeper and welcomed her home eagerly.

The static of excess magic faded and Ranma looked down with only the slightest frown. Slight, only because she found herself approving. Elegant and pure. The fact that the outfit was ultra-feminine was but a minor detail, if only because she was in the right frame of mind at the moment. Or wrong one, depending on one's point of view. Besides, the look that was now plastered across the Elder's face was _priceless._

_She_ knew horror. The smile Nair now found on Ranma's face was far from the over-confident smirk of five minutes ago, and the pit in the elder's stomach began to deepen. _NO!_ She screamed silently as she summoned all the ki at her disposal for a final assault. _Not when I'm so close!_

"Lunar Radiant Healing."

The light around Ranma Saotome pulsed as she triggered a familiar thread within the crystal, causing wounds to close as they were miraculously burnt away by white magic. The gash on her forehead smoldered and sealed, while the ribs floating free in her chest fused back into place. Princess Pluto turned and gave her sister a smile, which Ranma warmly returned. Nodding, she stepped out of the way to allow the dueling pair a direct line of sight with on another. The Queen's smile faded to serene neutrality.

"This is the last chance I will be giving you." She said with ethereal calm and the Amazon noted that even her speech patterns had changed. _Could the boy have been harboring the demon unknowingly all along?!_ "The stakes are too high to let this continue any longer."

"Hydra's Snare!" The Elder screamed and launched a multi headed ki blast into Ranma, who simply stood waiting. The arcs of red ki took independent paths from the old woman's hands but were all targeted at the exact same point, traveling under the theory that the demon couldn't _possibly_ intercept them all. The independent lines of energy converged suddenly, and--

_PHooOOOmMM!_

The resultant fireball cooked everything for ten meters, turning the tortured ground to literal glass under the enormous expenditure of energy. Smoke billowed from the zone of impact and Nair smiled, panting. She had just expended twenty years of her life force in addition to her normal reserves in that attack, but it had been worth it to see Serenity fall in her lifetime. She turned back to her sisters in arms. "Finish the--"

"Not today." Nair's eyes widened as a shadowy figure cleared the smoke, her glowing crystal still floating in hand. "Not ever."

A couple of brave Amazons took the leap, hoping to attack the demoness while she was still recovering from the Elders last attack only to be midair by a bandanna martial artist. His fanged grin did little to reflect the amount of pain he was about to inflict upon them as he reached for the bracer left all but forgotten throughout the fight.

Ranma had become a magical girl first. It was only fair that he keep his end of the bargain.

His finger touched the gemstone at its core and a multi dimensional field flashed to life around him, unfolding matter around his body according to a predefined matrix. In this case that predefined matrix was the pinnacle of Silver Millennium Powered Field Plate armor and what had jumped into the air as a plain clothed martial artist now plowed into the latex clad dominatrix as twelve and a half tons of reactive plating. A black clad leg glanced off the breast plate of Ryoga's new angular silver armor and only the Amazonian own armor kept the appendage from shattering outright. Servos whined and the Lost Boy twisted in the air, grabbing another Amazon as gravity finally took hold of him.

_WHAAAaaM!_

Ryoga Hibiki stood up from his mechanized crouch, painfully aware that he had just created a substantial crater on impact. He glanced down at his victim, a comatose Amazon, and smiled. Stupid Amazons. The remaining combatant landed nearby and prepared to renew her assault, only to be stopped by a ravenous buzzing sound. Ryoga had retrieved the chain sword from its back slung holster and awoken it, causing its hungry Tetrium teeth to chew the air around it. The Amazon hesitated as the weapon vibrated eagerly in his hand, though the noise left him all but oblivious to the threat falling on to his back. A shadow dagger poised to cut the armor open with the force of altitude when--

SHRiiiEEEEKsheeksheeksheek**BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!**

A small projectile rocketed past the Hibiki, through the crowd of Senshi, made a steep ninety degree climb, reversed direction through another angular turn and intercepted the hapless Amazon at the apex of her attack. The resulting blast baked Ryoga in his armor and pressed him further into his own personal crater while the twenty meter ball of expanding plasma blotted out the sun. When it finally died, a lone Amazon tumbled out of the air, severely burned and her dominatrix outfit in tatters. She landed with a thud and everybody stared at her for a moment, then turned their eyes back in the direction from which the drunken missile came.

There, across the courtyard they found Sailor Uranus grinning ear to ear, holding up a peace sign.

Both Ranma and Nair stared a moment long and shared a mutual shiver before turning their attention back to one another. The Elder gathered her power for another attack.

"You will fall even if I have to fuel the attack with the remaining years of my life, Witch." The old woman hissed, and the new attack began to glow in her hand.

"And it is time to show you what you truly face." Ranma shook her head and the crystal's glow intensifiedThe Elder stumbled back, but held her hand up, sighting Ranma with the ball of energy formed there in. Eighty years of life. That should do it, leaving one left to tie up loose ends and--

_"Moon Strike Nova."_

Nair's eyes only had time to widen as the crystal in the silver haired teen's hand pulsed, subjecting her to a world of excruciating pain as she was suddenly bathed in a pillar of white-blue fire. Ten meters of tightly confined energy roared into the heavens around her, stripping her of every protective charm and spell on her. Pure magic battered the Elder and only the hastily assembled shield kept her the old woman from perishing outright as the ethereal fire expended it's fury, dying down seconds later. When Amazons and Senshi alike could finally see the elder again, they found a smoldering, singed elder left standing in a glowing orange ring of glass. Miraculously, she managed to take an obviously painful step forward and form her hands into a diamond shape.

"You will... Not..." A hacking cough interrupted her threat. "Won't...succeed. I'll seal... you... just as you did..."

Ranma shook her head, almost pitying the woman. Serenity wanted to execute her outright. Saotome wasn't exactly so eager to kill her, even if the necessity was obvious. Regardless, both portions of the melded psyche came to an agreement, even if the mechanics by which were hereto unknown to the Ranma Saotome-Serenity's amalgam. She was needed for the moment, if only to explain just where she had gotten all the cursed armor and where the Amazonian Youma were being stored. Regardless, the merged persona decided the old crone was ultimately expendable if push came to shove. The silver haired martial arts queen cocked her head, studying the Elder and her charging attack.

Speaking of pushes and shoves...

She reached into the crystal again, finding her way through its familiar paths until she came to another well used spell and smiled. _This ought to keep the hag alive and out of my hair..._

"Lunar Glaive Containment."

This time, Nair was more alert and knew the crystal pulse was more than likely the harbringer of her doom. Every muscle tensed to dodge then froze as four translucent walls closed around her, flaring briefly before evaporating from whence they came. Their effect, however, had not dissipated with them and she remained rooted to that spot, unable to move a muscle.

Ranma gave the immobile elder on last look and checked the magical bindings against her on reflex. Yep, she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. A glance back to her own girls showed that they had stomped the last Amazon into the ground only moments ago, taking their shock at watching their leader completely and utterly neutralized to their advantage. Only a couple were actually standing now, and those had been sufficiently cowed by the Senshi's overwhelming firepower. A nasty look from Haruka and her Blaster Launcher helped too. Nice, but she had other things to worry about now.

"Agami." She stated to the air and the blue digital girl materialized next to her. The elder simply boggled, interpreting the effect as another summoned demon.

"The EM shadow is settling into parking orbit, estimate 300 kilometers above our position." The dreadnaught intelligence reported, anticipating her Queen's request. "I still have no way to penetrate-- One moment." The AI paused and cocked her head, as if listening to a high pitched tone, or some other barely audible event. "Separation. I am reading a distinct separation in the shadow's signature."

"Drop ship." Sailor Pluto stated as she stepped up to Ranma's side. "Details?"

"None I'm afraid, Princess Pluto." Agami shook her head. "While it is not running a full spectrum cloaking device like its parent vessel, I am reading wide spectrum ECM all across the board. Terra's local sensors won't even register its existence."

'Then we'll just have to--"

"I AM NOT DONE WITH YOU, HELL SPAWN!"

All of the Senshi's heads whipped around to find the elder struggling against the containment field she had erected, the faint glow of its walls fazing in and out as the old woman fought to lift a hand up... A hand contained one of the Amazon daggers! The Elder produced a cruel smile as the dagger's power fought against the barrier. It wasn't powerful enough to actually free her entirely, but that wasn't the point in the first place.

"Do not... take me... lightly... Demoness!" The effort she was throwing into countering the barrier was telling and they watched in amazement as the dagger cleared shoulder height and closed on her neck. "My... sacrifice to our Goddess... will seal... your fate!"

With one last push of supreme effort, the black blade found her throat and she tore it across its aged flesh, breaching the major arteries it housed and instantly evacuating the blood pumping in a fine mist. Still, the containment held the dying woman upright even as her very lifeblood drained out of her diminutive body. The glow of life faded from Nair's eyes and it was over in seconds.

She was dead.

At least until a pair of jagged, bladed black wings sprouted from her back, tearing through the husk of the woman as if she were the chaff of a seed. A pair of legs disemboweled her lifeless body from inside out, while another pair of overly large arms displaced what was left of the rapidly deteriorating elder. A dark crimson head with rows of jagged teeth erupted from the remains of her chest and continued to tear through wrinkled skin until two glowing red eyes sighted on Ranma.

**"YOOOoooUUUU Wiiiillll DIIEEEE HeeeLLL SPAAWWNNN!!!"**

The Senshi watched in horror as the beast grew, seemingly forcing the containment field back by its mere presence. The Amazons had been bad enough! Now a full blown demon had--

_CRRRAAaaaaAACCCCK!!_

A searingly bright beam lanced across the monster, existing only long enough to bisect its torso before disappearing as if it never existed. The demon's shriek turned into a gurgle as it slid in half, reduced to ash and cinders on the way to the ground before their very eyes. All turned down the vector of the attack to find one silver hair pigtailed girl with an outstretched hand and expression of stone writ across her face for only a second before she turned back to the holographic depiction of Agami as if nothing had happened.

"Can we stop it?"

The dreadnaught considered the question as quickly as she dismissed the smoldering remains of the former Nair demon. "You should be able to, your Highness. Assuming your full potential, an energy bolt from yourself could easily destroy the incoming drop ship once it comes into visual range."

Setsuna frowned. "What about the dreadnaught?"

"We lack the necessary firepower on site to deal with it effectively at range." Agami reported, then paused. "I now control three quarters of the United States strategic nuclear arsenal and am acquiring those of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic and Peoples Republic of China as we speak. Subsurface maritime assets will be at my disposal in one minute, thirty seconds."

"Assuming they even get past the shields." Setsuna shook her head.

"Correct." The AI agreed. "While I must admit that the odds of an all out nuclear strike succeeding against a dreadnaught of the line is _very_ remote, it is, unfortunately the best I can do in my current state."

"One thing at a time." Ranma stated as the Saotome aspect of her personality came more into focus. "Where's this dropship comin' in?"

If Agami noticed the change in vocal inflection, she evidentially chose not to care or betray surprise. "Descending through two hundred and fifty kay meters over the Pacific, bearing 105.31, six hundred kilometers downrange."

Ranma blinked. "Uh..."

Setsuna pointed off into the cloudless blue sky to the west. "That way."

"Uh, right."

"Target slowing to mach six." Agami reported calmly. "Visual range in forty-five seconds. I suggest a charge of three point eight terawatts for your initial attack, your Highness."

Ranma blinked and Setsuna supplied the translation. "Just charge it up as high as you can Senny, then blast the hell out of it."

Ranma smiled grimly. "Now that's something I think I can do."

Her hand once again anchored the Ginzuishou, which had been floating freely around her up until that moment while the other stretched out to the western sky. With their opponents safely neutralized, the Senshi gathered around behind her and watched as a shining globe of power began to collect in the hand. It appeared dull and insubstantial at first, slowly building to spotlight intensity.

"Range 300 kilometers and falling." Agami relayed. "Visual range in twenty seconds. 2,581 nuclear assets acquired, release on your mark, your Highness."

Ranma Saotome heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts and Silver Millennium legacy gritted as she channeled power that was both beyond her reckoning and familiar all at once, her body now a conduit for otherworldly forces being shaped and molded by the crystal in her hand. From there, Ranma channeled it through very soul and forced into a singular foci of force that screamed for release. Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead as she continued to channel the massive ball of lethal potential in her hand, cramping muscles all up and down her arm.

"How… much longer... 'Gami…" She growled as the spell became increasingly unruly, the ball of power vibrating in her hand as if struggling to get free. Ranma cursed as she almost lost containment of the attack she was focusing into the westward sky. "This thing is getting to be…"

"Two point seven-five terawatts, Queen." Agami preempted, continuing her running dialogue. "Range to target: 150 kilometers, speed falling under mach one. Visual acquired."

With that proclamation, a holographic square popped into existence next to the dreadnaught AI displaying blue sky and what looked to be an axe head or something similar to the head of a hammer head shark but without the body. It was completely black, save a pinstripe of yellow gracing the winglets. The hammer's edges themselves had large pods trailing of their tips, their purpose unknown yet menacing simultaneously.

The Senshi of Neptune leaned forward, eyeing the depiction. "That looks _very_ familiar somehow…"

"The craft is just under one kilometer long. ECM is still negating all attempts to ascertain threat potential."

"That almost looks like a RSN dropship." Setsuna frowned as the image drew closer and Ranma snarled.

"Somebody better tell me what that thing is cuz I can't hold this damn attack off any longer!" Blood trickled down her lip as she bit into it, desperately attempting to maintain the forces she had called into her hand. Her entire arm was on fire now and the attack itself was blazing with blinding light blue intensity.

"Reading your power at four point three terawatts your highness." Agami nodded. "Optimum release in five, four, thee, two…" Digital eyes blinked with surprise as she halted the countdown abruptly. "Receiving IFF from the target! Codes correspond with Queens Alpha, first brigade--"

"SENNY, NO!!" Pluto's eyes widened as the strain on her best friend finally took its toll, even as the martial artist attempted to recall the energies in her grip.

"AAAHHHHHAAAARRR!!!" There was no way she could pull that much power back into herself, and Ranma instinctively knew it. The best she could do was nudge the aim somewhere else, but the power itself was resisting--

"MOM!!!" Sailor Moon was there before the next breath could be taken, slamming into her mother's arm in a desperate bid to knock the spell from its target. Power blasted through the blonde's body, as she gripped Ranma's arms and pushed with everything she had…

PHOOOOoooo**oOOMMMPH!!!!!**

The incandescent blue ball freed itself from Ranma's grip with violent force, its very launch potential blasting a trench across the Tendo yard, through a wall and out into the street beyond as blazed into the blue sky like a secondary sun. The point of magical annihilation passed through the encroaching ships altitude, fifteen kilometers to the right and disappeared into the endless blue seconds later. Ranma stared for a moment at the dot twinkling on the horizon, then collapsed to her knees before the glowing orange trench at her feet.

"What the HELL was that, Ranma!?" Ryoga lumbered over, dismissing his armor as he and the Senshi crowded around the panting, exhausted Queen while both daughter and best friend helped her back up to her still shaky feet.

"Five point nine terawatts, to be exact." Agami, replied to the misdirected question. "As I was saying, target is squawking IFF on all frequencies consistent with pre-fall codes of the Queen's Alpha, first brigade strike. The vessel is identifying itself as the Talis, a Dark Omen class drop ship." The AI paused and arched an eyebrow. "It is also flagging itself Royal Assault."

Setsuna's head turned sharply on the blue holographic girl. "Impossible."

Ranma shook her head as others filtered into back onto the Tendo property now with incredulous expressions. "God, I don't need no more surprises…"

Setsuna was blinking rapidly now at the unspoken implications, but turned back to the silver haired teen with the relevant information. "Royal Assault is exactly that… Any ship flagged Royal Assault is bringing down members of the Royal Family, in this case, you or Moon."

"It is a 'defend at all costs' asset." Agami submitted, earning Pluto's nod.

"Which is impossible because I was there for the damn fall." She continued, eyeing the spec that had grown into the size of a black pancake. "Both of you fell on the field. Hell, you're here so… Oh _shit_."

Haruka blinked, and Michiru cocked her head curiously. "What was that?"

"Please tell me I wouldn't do that to myself…" Setsuna paled noticeably, watching the sky-borne hammerhead draw closer. Its immense size was only now becoming apparent as it began to take up a large portion of the blue sky, still heading directly toward them.

Nabiki strode up to their group with a shark's grin, while the remaining Tendo sisters joined them, as well as Kuno, his Samurai, sister and the Ranma's Amazons. "Looks like you managed to nearly destroy the place this time, Saotome. That's going to be…" It was only then did she note that nobody was even paying attention. "Helloooo… Ranma???"

Ranma simply point skyward and Ranma followed the finger up and-- Nabiki's jaw nearly dropped upon seeing what was an honest to God space ship starting to rumble over head. The hammer head's shadow crawled over the dojo, blotting out the sun, and the only thing that kept Nabiki from panicking outright was the fact that it - while damn freaky - wasn't the first or last freaky object to have appeared over the Nermian skyline over the past year. After all, there had been giant phoenix', Lucky Gods airships, Ashuras… She shook her head out of her trance and looked over at her younger sister who was staring likewise.

"I'd hide if I were you Akane." The jerked the girl from her trance. "It's probably another kidnapping with your name on it."

Akane blinked then reddened. "I can take care of myself! I'm a martial artist too, you know!"

Setsuna simply arched an eyebrow, but opted to remain silent as the immense ship took up position over the Tendo household. Detail was immediately visible now as the eye was able to pick out the lines and armor plating that made up the formidable vessel. Various bulges and lance-like features marred the skin of the drop ship and Ranma's brain was automatically cataloging them as weapons of some sort. Lord knew that it probably had enough to raze half of Japan on its first pass.

"Uh, what do we do now, Setsy?" Ranma whispered, unable to tear her eyes way from the enormous ship. Setsuna in turn shrugged, similarly awed. She had forgotten how _big_ those damn things were.

"And what trouble have you gotten us into now, son in-law?" Ranma turned to her left to find Cologne, Mousse and Shampoo staring upward. It was an action mirrored by anybody within a twenty kilometer radius of their position.

Ranma frowned, returning her attention to the giant hammer head. "Can't be any worse than your damn Amazon power play."

"Indeed." Cologne smiled thinly. So she had noticed after all. With her competition either dead or effectively neutralized, there was nothing to stop her from retaking power within the tribe, especially after such a spectacular failure. The Elder nodded. Indeed, she had wagered wisely, banking that Saotome would not only protect Shampoo and the newly resurrected Amazons, but defeat her competition as well. The fact that she didn't appear to be a demon after all was merely an added bonus. "But then, my schemes have never involved giant alien spacecraft."

"Point." Ranma shrugged, wishing the damn ship would up and do something. She was getting a crick in her neck just from--

Air vibrated around them and blurred phantoms were conjured into existence throughout the courtyard. They started out as ghosts, quickly solidifying into eight meter tall humanoids plated head to toe in slabs of heavy crimson armor and sporting long triple barreled weapons. Each was equipped with a holster mount housing a weapon that appearing quite similar to the Chain Sword Setsuna had issued Ryoga. The forms vibrated one last time and fazed fully into reality local, quickly taking advantage of their stunning entrance and moving into a loose defensive ringed around Ranma and the Senshi while three of the troopers lumbered over to Cologne, Shampoo and Mousse, sticking a total of nine barrels in their faces. The remainder of the shock troopers found the other Amazon aggressors and covered them similarly. Those that had regained consciousness, at least.

"Um, son in-law?"

Ranma looked around, thoroughly stunned. None of the suits had even turned a weapon on herself or the girls, but Cologne… "Don't look at me. Seems like they know yas from somewhere."

Hell, she couldn't even tell if they were human or not under all that armor, Ranma noted with some dismay. Would be nice to know if her visitors were three headed aliens or what not. Of course, these visitors only had a single- albeit completely armored -head more often than not painted with a skull overlay. All in all, they were quite intimidating. Ranma smiled thinly, looking across at the youngest Tendo who was pale with wide eyes. _Good thing she's with us_, she thought with an edge of sarcasm. _She's_ a martial artist, after all.

Ranma blinked. _Now where had that come from?_

Any attention she was about to direct to her internal thought process was quickly diverted as the air began to buzz with life once more and formless wisps started to manifest closer to the center of the Tendo compound. These armored figures solidified just as quickly as the last, but were quickly distinguishable from the others by the red dragon coiling across the silver plates of their shoulders while the curves in their armor that easily identified them as female. Every single one of these troopers mounted Haruka's newest weapon of choice, the blaster launcher, while the dual edged crescent-ringed bladed staff from her memories were found to be slung across their backs. Ranma's mouth opened slightly as recognition came from the depths.

"They can't be…?"

Setsuna stepped in closer, nodding as the troops moved into new positions, a slightly wider ring than the one they first appeared from. "They sure look like it. But something tells me we're not going to like this surprise." Even as she said it, a new form shimmered into existence at the guards' center, this one several measures smaller and more human in appearance. Like the others, it took a moment for the figure to cross over into their dimensional plane, but when it did, Setsuna was left gaping. "_Oh God_… I should have known… How could I not have…?!"

Ranma and company simply stared as the figure reoriented herself, then stepped past the ring of guards. Power was rolling off the newcomer, and the martial artist mentally prepared to call up more of the potent yet wildly uncontrollable magic at her disposal. Two of the lumbering guards took up immediate positions behind her and followed while the rest moved on to secondary positions around the Senshi and Ranma by proxy. The new girl was female and teen by the looks of it, the Saotome surmised, just over her height and sporting a black cheongsam with thin pink dragons hugging her every curve. The teen's most notable feature was her pink hair, tied up in an odango with long streamers trailing behind her. She confidently walked up to the befuddled group, coming to Sailor Moon first.

The pair looked upon one another, sizing each other up. Usagi was on the edge of being terrified herself. The girl in front of her looked entirely too much like--

"MOM!"

"Urk!" The blonde was immediately enveloped in a bear hug, stunning her completely. It was then she made the connection. With the embrace released, Moon stepped back, her brain whirling. No way could this be… NO WAY… _She looks like Dark Lady! _

"Um, Chibi Usa?"

A giant grin broke out across the teens face. "Don't know about the Chibi part, but of course it's me!" She rolled her pink eyes. "Your daughter_, hellooooo?"_

"But! But! But!" Usagi stammered, thoroughly blindsided. "You're supposed to be small! And… And! That's your evil body!"

Usa Moon blinked for a moment with confusion, then the smile returned. "Oooooh, I see." She waved the blithering Sailor Moon off. "Auntie Puu warned me something like this was bound to happen." The girl shrugged the revelation off and waved to the remaining Senshi as if she were on a first name basis with all of them

All eyes instantly swiveled on the green haired Senshi who was at that very moment beating her forehead with her own fist. "I can't believe I actually set myself up like this! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

"Uh, Setsy?" Ranma leaned over to the woman. "Wanna tell us what's going--"

"GRANDMA!!!"

Ranma's eyes widened as the new girl's eyes locked onto hers, the teens smile brightening to blinding levels. "Uh, did you say--OOF!"

Ranma Saotome was next in line for a crushing hug as the pink haired girl squealed in delight, jumping up and down. "Oooh! It's so good to see you Gramma!" The Martial Arts queen's brain rapidly seized even as the Usa pulled away, her eyes locking onto the eldest Tendo. "Say, when did Kas-chan dye her hair brown?"

"RANMA!? Who the hell is this!?" Akane Tendo began to glow visibly red as she trembled with jealousy, at least until the new girl's guard took notice and swung their weapons around, bringing them to bear on her. The battle aura quickly died as Akane noted the threat they represented. That didn't stop her from sending a leaded glare into Ranma, who was presently attempting to extricate herself from the girls grasp. "Why does every girl you meet have to glomp on you?!"

"How the hell should I know!" She stepped away from the girl, who frowned at the reception she received from her the person named grandmother. "Setsuna, what the hell is this?!"

Pluto simply shook her head and stepped up to the pink haired girl. "Usa Moon, right?" The pink haired girl nodded. "From the future?"

Usa favored Pluto with a bored look. "Duh?"

Setsuna let lose a labored sigh and rubbed her temples, then turned back to Ranma. "Didn't get to explain this part to you. Before we met you, Usagi's daughter was sent back from the future to protect her from some really nasty people. By the future me."

The pink haired teen furrowed her eyebrows. "No you didn't."

The Senshi ignored her. "Her name was Chibi Usa, and we recently sent her _back_ to the future."

"As if."

Ranma looked from her best friend to the teen and back. "Okay, so this is…?"

"No." Pluto cut her off. "This is _not_ Chibi Usa. That Usa was pre-adolecent. This one is…"

"Like Dark Lady!" Minako supplied with a slight edge of panic in her voice. The others nodded with her. Even Usagi.

"Dark what?" The new girl blinked, evidentially clueless as to the contents of the accusation. "Only my enemies call me that."

"Then prove that you're not her!" Jupiter pointed a finger in accusation.

Usa put her hands on her hips, affecting put-out look. "And how am I supposed to do that, aunt Makoto?"

"Umm…"

Mars stepped in where Jupiter stalled out. "That ship of yours in orbit. What color is it?"

Venus sent her an edgy look. "What kind of stupid question is--"

"Pink."

Ami shrugged. "Maybe she is Chibi--"

"And _black_."

All of the Senshi stepped back with trepidation.

Moon, however, stood her ground. "Are you really…?"

"Of course. How do I prove it to you?" She asked innocently.

"I know." Ranma stepped up with a wicked grin. She was still getting used to the fact that she was the one time ruler of a galactic empire. And now a mother. And now a goddamn grandmother. _And _ancient Amazonian enemy. Steam was just _dying_ to get worked off here. "No granddaughter of mine would be caught dead without knowin' the Art."

The smile was reciprocated by the pink haired girl, who turned her attention fully on the Saotome. "Is that a challenge?"

"Damn straight it is." Ranma nodded. Granddaughter or not, she was liking this girl's attitude.

Usa slipped into an attack stance easily, one Ranma readily recognized with surprise as an Anything Goes derivative. "You may have won last time, Grams, but don't think I'll take it easy on you just because we're in the past!"

Ranma's brain was only just catching up to the 'won last time' part when a roundhouse screamed in, signaling the beginning of the match.

The block came up and it was on.

Setsuna, Makoto, Ami, Minako, Haruka, Michiru, Rei, Usagi, Hotaru, Cologne, Shampoo, Mousse, Wax, Potion, Akane, Nabiki, Kasumi, Soun, Genma, Nodoka, Ryoga, Mamoru, Kodachi, Tatewaki, his samurai, the Alpha Guard and the defeated Amazons were treated to a martial arts epic as both figures blurred into one another, rolling one combo after another as each was blocked parried and renewed. The match gained altitude as both girls demonstrated their mastery of the aerial art they practiced while attempting to unleash as much punishment as possible on one another. Even Ryoga had to stare in awe, just not at Ranma's prowess. The girl definitely knew Ranma's style, and the last two years of sparring with his rival gave him the authority to make that call with certainty. He winced as Ranma took two hard blows that pounded her back to the earth, indenting the ground on impact but she otherwise remaining upright and turned around to face the renewed attack.

Both figures flashed across the courtyard and their audience quickly realized that the pink odangos were pushing their pigtailed counterpart back inch by inch. Ranma sidestepped the next combination and retook the offensive, taking her velocity to amiguriken levels. If Usa was surprised, it only lasted a moment as she responded in kind, and both artists attacks were now slapping their bystanders with light shockwaves of air pressure. Even Cologne knew this couldn't last forever. Ranma was keeping up, but just barely. Like Ryoga, she was cataloging the pink haired girl's arsenal and was noting distinct differences from Ranma's core art. The girl was flipping through styles like chained lightning unleashed and son in-law was getting pressed hard. There was even advanced Amazon fu in there if she wasn't mistaking. Another blurring attack came in and Ranma rolled out of it and opened the distance, panting. Usa skidded to a halt, also panting.

"You're mine, Gramma!" The girl smiled maliciously. "Can't wait to tell you how I beat your pants off you in the--" Usa's eyes widened and her legs turned to jello, depositing her to the grassy turf at her feet. "Wha? Hey. HEY! No fair!"

Ranma smiled, then slumped, completely exhausted herself. Luck. It had been complete and utter luck that she had been able to slip that pressure point in. Another five minutes and the girl would have been kicking her ass up and down the courtyard in front of everybody.

"Well…" Ranma huffed, still out of breath. "I'm convinced… Don't know how the hell… But I'm convinced…" She staggered over to the grumbling girl and knelt down, finding the left side of her hip. With a light press, she reversed the point and feeling began to flow back into Usa's legs.

"Not fair." Usa Moon grumped. "You're not supposed to be this good in the past."

"Yeah, well I'm the best. What can I say?" Ranma smiled and helped the girl up. "Do I even want to know what you're doing here?"

"Oh, that's easy." Usa shrugged, dusting her pink on black cheongsam off. "You and Auntie Setsuna sent me back to make sure everything went off without a hitch."

"A big mystery ship in orbit and accompanying dropship would certainly do that, I guess." Mercury commented skeptically.

"_I _wanted to bring a short battle group." The girl stressed with a somewhat disappointed air. "But you insisted the Brimful of Asha would be sufficient."

"The Brimful of what?" Makoto mimed without comprehension

"The pink and black dreadnaught in orbit above us." Usa pointed up, earning a round of dumb nods.

"God I have a sick_, sick_ sense of humor." Setsuna just shook her head, sapped of enthusiasm.

Usagi's daughter stepped up next to Pluto and patted her shoulder with sympathy. "Don't feel too bad. It was Grandma's idea to have us arrive during your fight with the Amazons."

Ranma blinked. Evidentially she was going to become one twisted SOB in the future if that was her idea of a practical joke. "I'm starting to need some more of that firewine, Setsy."

"You and me both." Pluto agreed. "Something tells me the Crystal Tokyo timeline is screwed all to hell."

"You've been there already?" It was Usa Moon's turn to blink. "I didn't think that got built until 2054…"

"It… exists?" Setsuna breathed, shocked. "Wait… 2054?"

"Sure it does." Usa returned nonchalantly. "Mom used to take me there every Saturday."

"Take you?" Usagi mouthed, confusion plastered across her face. "I mean, huh?"

"They had the greatest rides." She smiled with fond reminiscence. "God a Monolith Burger sounds good right now!"

"An amusement park?" Nabiki hazarded to guess. Usa shot her a look that indicated that it should have been common knowledge.

"I so hate myself." Setsuna muttered.

Ranma simply shook her head and moved on to an easier topic. Right. "Okay, so what's up with the old ghoul over there?"

Ranma jabbed a thumb back at the trio of surrounded Amazons still at gunpoint and the pink girls bright expression darkened. "Oh, _her_." Cologne shivered at the spite the word 'her' was uttered. "_She _causes trouble in the future."

"Why ain't I surprised." Ranma frowned. "What'd she do?"

"Allied herself with the Jurian Empire. Sells them secrets and other less than wholesome activities." Usa folded her arms, scowling at the old woman.

Ranma considered the statement. "Well I don't know no Juries. They bad news?"

"Damn right!" The pink odango slapped a fist into her hand. "They came into power about three thousand years after the fall and have been steadily moving into our old territorial lines. Hell, half their technology was derived from picking the bones off our old empire."

"Really now." Pluto questioned. "Didn't see them in the Crystal Tokyo timeline."

Usa shot her a quizzled look. "Don't know why you keep going on about Crystal Tokyo, but they already have emissaries on Earth. I'd sac em' if I were you. Except Ryoko. She's all right, even if that damn prince of hers is a jerk."

"Prince?" Usagi perked up, glancing across to Kamen.

"Yeah, blood heir." Her daughter elaborated. "Cute, but a real asshole. Keeps stringing all these women along."

"Sounds like somebody I know." Ryoga grumbled, but Usa paid little attention.

"Anyway, we've been pushing 'em back across our pre-fall boarders, but they won't take no for an answer." She continued. "Can't count how many of their tree fleets I've turned to matchsticks." The girl then turned to mother and grandmother. "Even had the gall to annex Earth and strip mine Meridian. Grams didn't _like_ that. It's why I wanted to bring back a battle group."

Ranma's expression hardened at the news as chains of Silver Millennium memories were sparked off. Those were two places that _nobody_ got to screw with.

Usa then turned to the air. "Brim-kun, current location of the Jurian contingent in this timeframe."

A red holographic boy popped into existence across from her, sporting a short bowl cut, button down shirt and khakis made up of data streams. "100345.001 by 033000195.08, Tokyo, Princess." He reported in a child's voice, then noticed the Ranma, Usagi and the Senshi. "Oh, hello Your Highness. Princess. Guardians."

More dumb nods in return.

"Have fire control lock up their location." Usa stated with a feral grin. "And keep an eye out for Ryo-ohki."

"Order relayed." Brim reported. "Fire control replies mass drivers four through eight locked on target and standing by with 105mm non-fissionable ordinance, fighters standing by to intercept."

Nodding with satisfaction, Usa then turned to Usagi with pleading eyes. "Can I blow the snot out of them, Mom? _Pleeeeaassee??"_ The Princess of the Moon took a step back upon noting the eager light shining in the girl's eyes. "Gramma said to ask you and if you said yes I could."

Usagi glanced over to Ranma. "Uh, _Mom?_ Can she, um, blow up the Jurians?"

"Eh…" Ranma was caught flatfooted. What the hell did she tell the little spitfire? The girl was _definitely_ a Saotome. "Um, not right now. Let's, eh, talk about the old bag first."

"Oh, fine." Usa huffed with a slight pout, then turned to Brim. "Tell fire control to standby, but atomize Ryo-ohki if she lifts."

"Understood."

In the time she was preoccupied with the AI, Ranma had walked over to Cologne, who was an unhealthy shade paler than usual. Of course, to know this one would have to have been in her presence on a regular basis to distinguish from her normally unpleasant visage. "Now why you causin' me trouble in the future, old ghoul?"

_WHaaP!_

"OW!"

Colognes smile at the administered caning evaporated instantly as three green laser dots blinked to life, sighting on her forehead. Ranma rubbed her head as a fleshy knot grew through her silver crop. "Probably pissed at me not marrying Shampoo still."

"Since you aren't a demon, there's no reason you can't." Cologne said with easiness that belied the concern she had over the little green dots still tracking on her head.

"Is no should marry Ranma if queen?" Shampoo leaned in curiously and her great grandmother scowled. "Airen already bring back two sisters too. Is very, very powerful!"

"The will of the Joketsuzoku will not be stayed." She regarded the Saotome imperiously, all but ignoring her great grandchild's missives. While she was always one to encourage the child's forward thinking, it was rather annoying to have it interrupt--

"The time for these games are over, Elder." Cologne's words clicked inside Ranma's head and several logic gates fell into place, gates that brought the Serenity aspect into sharp focus. The old woman came to instant attention at not only the form of her address, but the Saotome's new pattern of speech. No contractions. No bastardized Japanese. "I have another lifetime of memories to show me the error of my ways, and I will not let threats to my family, friends or home go unanswered any longer."

Cologne's eyes narrowed at the new Saotome. "Meaning what, son in-law?"

Ranma's own eyes turned to crystal blue edges and Cologne found herself involuntarily sucking in a breath. _Her power was rising exponentially! If she had dealt with Nair as easily… _"Meaning that I will move proactively against anything I perceive as a threat. In the past, I waited for those threats to come to me. I lost an entire empire to that behavior. I grew soft. No longer."

The implication was obvious and the Elder's insides were churning. Whatever she was becoming, she was deadly serious, and Cologne knew she could no longer rely on the Martial Artist's prohibition against killing to keep her from her stated goals. Her eyes flicked over to Akane off to the side, watching the exchange. "And the other fiancées?"

Ranma smiled thinly and the edge in her eyes lost some of its seriousness. "I apparently have a daughter and granddaughter. Whattya think?"

_Saotome again_, Cologne noted as the personalities shifted. She wondered if Ranma even realized it. Still, the point was obvious enough. Ranma already had a daughter, who in turn had a child of her own in the future. The Amazons apparently didn't figure significantly in that future. Something was telling her that the rest of the Nermian regulars didn't figure in that future either, as the pink haired girl showed them little recognition. _Nice to know I'll still be around though…_

"Indeed." She admitted finally. "Apparently the future is, shall we say, malleable. Perhaps we can come to some mutually advantageous agreement before this unfortunate situation comes to pass."

"Your proposal."

The Serenity was back. Cologne took a breath as she prepared to step upon shaky ground, both with the girl in front of her and the remains of her tribe. "I ask for your royal favor upon the Amazons, our continued survival in place of marriage." Ranma nodded at her to continue. "If you are indeed as powerful as has been indicated-" One look up at the dropship floating above illustrated her point, "-Then you have the means to ensure the continued survival of the Amazon nation, the most pressing concern being our neighbors and the Communist. We are a powerful nation, but our way of life hangs by a thread of misdirection and subterfuge. In short, we are myth. Likewise the Musk and Phoenix. Should that myth become not so, we perish."

"And you ask for the protection of my throne." Ranma asked rhetorically and the elder nodded in the affirmative. Nabiki stepped to the martial artist's side with a slight smile.

"For fifty thousand yen, I can act as your advis---"

The silver haired teen held up a finger, indicating her silence was required before continuing with Cologne. "And exactly what is in it for me, Elder Cologne? I could, after all, indulge in my granddaughter's notion of diplomacy."

It took only a moment for her to catch her meaning, and when she did, Cologne paled once more as something along the lines of '105mm non-fissionable ordinance' came to mind. Oh, she doubted Ranma actually would, but the threat hung there and had been administered by her evil twin. Even Nabiki seemed slightly startled at the proclamation. "Your favor will be returned in its fullest measure. The loyalty of the Amazon nation is no small token, nor is the knowledge we bring to the table. Likewise your future ambitions."

Ranma arched an eyebrow. "And what do you know of those?"

"Your proactive approach will require a power base among the nations." Cologne elaborated, smiling now. "The Amazons, as such, already have a foothold in China. With the proper support, we could effectively infiltrate the Communist power structure and supplant it with our own, which would in turn be loyal to you."

Trust be told, Ranma hadn't thought about the stepping stones she would have to take from here to her granddaughter's future. World domination, as cliché as it did sound, was certainly one of them and her Serenity aspect knew it, even if she hadn't had time to think of it with the constant storm of chaos swirling around her these last few days.

Nabiki, on the other hand, simply boggled. This just wasn't chump change they were talking about. They were negotiating the goddamn take over of communist China! And then the world! Not that many people would shed a tear over China other countries would be far less motivated to simply turn over their power to a clueless martial artist. But then, this particular incarnation didn't appear all that clueless, and if she could get in on Ranma's good side… Oh, she didn't want world domination for herself, per se, but riding on the coat tails of somebody who did promised to be a very lucrative venture.

"And as preeminent Elder of the Amazon nation, you would, of course, be the ruler of this new China." Nabiki pointed out in a sufficiently doubtful tone, and Ranma cocked her head with the point. "What assurance do _we_ have that you would continue to be cooperative after you assume control of one of the largest nations on Earth?"

"A marriage between her throne and the Joketsuzoku?" Ranma snorted at Cologne's obvious, yet hopeful joke, who in turn shrugged and continued. "I can only offer my word, which you know I have never broken, Saotome. Our prosperity is your prosperity."

"I'd still like that in writing, even if only as a formality." Nabiki stated to Ranma, playing the trusted advisor role to the hilt. "I can have a legal contract ready by morning tomorrow."

Ranma turned and stared at Nabiki with penetrating eyes, causing her to wince internally. Still, she did her best to keep it from showing on her person. _Damn!_ Nabiki started. _She knows I'm playing up to her. E_ven as she was sure Ranma would turn her offer down, she received a shrug instead. "Alright. The takeover of China won't hold up in court, but at least everybody will know what they're getting into, I guess." Both Cologne and Nabiki stared a moment, recognizing the fluid change in personality, then watched it as it shifted back just as quickly. "Make sure to leave room for additional signatures. I want everybody in your village on onboard. No last minute voices of reason. Get that and you will have the throne's complete backing."

"Give me time to help my sisters recover from Nair's corruptive influence and I will have them for you." Cologne nodded with a thin smile.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." Nabiki stated, turning on a heel. "I'll have copies ready in Japanese, Cantonese and Mandarin ready by tomorrow."

"ARE YOU INSANE!?" Nabiki turned, right into a wild eyed Akane Tendo. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Taking over the world by the sound of it, Sis." Nabiki stated matter-of-factly, causing Akane to twitch.

"Dammit, Nabiki!" The sister fumed. "Whatever happened to getting Ranma back to normal?! Remember the rock? The one you were going to sell?!?"

Nabiki simply shook her head. "In case you haven't noticed, there is a giant spaceship floating above your head. There is also a pink haired girl in command of not only that spaceship but these huge walking tanks and a _bigger_ ship in orbit while claiming Ranma is her grandmother." She paused, then added as and afterthought, "_not _grandfather. Besides, there's better money in taking over the world. _That's_ a returning investment right there."

"Ranma can't take over the world!" Akane protested, attempting to gain some handle on the situation. "He's supposed to--!"

"I'm afraid I must agreeth with the illustrious Nabiki Tendo, my fiery Tigress." Kuno stepped to her side. "Mine noble Queen appears to already command the loyalties of the Sailor Senshi as well as a most formidable force." He gestured around to the various troops arrayed around them, as well as Usa's personal guard specifically. "Likewise, she hath the loyalty of Amazon nation and more importantly House Kuno at her unwavering disposal. If it is thy Queen's will to bring the world unto her fold, we shall endeavor to make it thus!"

Akane Tendo's jaw simply hung open.

Sailor Mercury coughed. "So we're going to take over the world now?" The cough turned into a chuckle. "Heh… Heheheh… MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!"

Minako, Maokoto and Rei eyed her warily, as that sort of laughter usually exhibited by dark generals and the like, not the kind you would use upon finding the punch line to a particularly funny joke.

"Um, is it _okay_ for the pretty girls of Love and Justice to take over the world?" Usagi voiced the most obvious concern.

"Of course it is." Setsuna smoothed over, quite delighted with the turn of events. Sure, the Crystal Tokyo timeline may have been screwed all to hell, but at least she wasn't instigating the death of a few billion people in the process. That, and the fact that a new Usa Moon was here from the future indicated that not only was this improbable timeline possible, but it was nearly _certain_. "You were going to take it over anyway. Just think of it as moving the timetable up."

_...A few centuries, give or take_, she added silently to herself.

"Is too too good alliance." Shampoo beamed, taking up station next to Ranma. If Cologne didn't know any better, she'd almost swear that the girl had been struck by a slight case of hero worship. Mousse was positively glowing from the background at his good fortune "Shampoo and Ranma be blade sisters!"

Ranma simply looked at the girl. Sure it was better than death or marriage, but no less weird. And what the hell was a--

"I don't know what a blade sister is, but Ran-chan's mine, dammit!" Ukyo huffed. She'd be _damned_ if she would let her claim on Ranma fall to the wayside.

"She's not a queen or your fiancée!" Akane bit back, still sizzling from her sister's betrayal and just how rapidly things were spiraling out of control.

"I got more important things to worry about!" Ranma yelled over the argument, silencing the fiancées. "Maybe the giant ship above us clued ya into that fact. Or a time traveling granddaughter? How about super powered evil Amazons?!"

The fiancées seemed to get a clue, but there was little else on the minds of her parents these days. Even if the world was about to end, she could count on exactly two things-- Fiancees and Parents.

"Boy..." Genma growled, pushing his way to the forefront of the crowed. "You got an obligation..."

"Indeed." Nodoka chimed in, following her husband. "A manly obligation."

"To my Akane!" Soun rounded out the argument with certainty in his voice.

"I seriously ain't got time this." Ranma stood fast and an aura of light seemed to collect around her. She stabbed a finger at her father. "You of all people don't got no right to be talking about obligations! The only one you ever fulfilled is the one to your stomach!"

"Ungrateful boy!" Genma made a lunge and Ranma sidestepped the attack in a blur and sent a magical energy bolt into his back as the patriarch passed, blowing him into the koi pond with a splash. She turned back to her mother and Soun.

"As I was saying."

"MY POOR AKANE!!" Demon-head Soun blew up and was just as quickly dispatched by a micro ki-burst, killing the manifestation with a head shot.

"As I was SAYING."

"While Usagi is a fine young girl, she is a poor substitute for a blood heir." Nodoka continued imperviously, caressing her katana from force of habit. "You will demonstrate your manliness by marrying a Tendo and taking these other fine women on as mistresses."

The pigtailed girl twitched, and something in her mother's tone resonated within the Serenity aspect of her psyche, allowing the focus in her brain to shift once more. "Do not force this issue, mother. Who I marry and when I marry will be a choice of my own choosing. I will not have either pressed upon me by those whose honor is highly selective," She glanced back at the wet panda. "Nor by those with moral backbone of a jellyfish." Another glare at Soun.

"Of course you have a choice." Her mother returned smoothly and with all the consideration in the world. Consideration dashed by her next words. "You can marry Akane, Nabiki or--"

"Genma stole my dowry!" Ukyo blew, totally forgetting just how treacherous the ground was that she was walking upon.

"You don't even have a legitimate claim anymore!" Akane returned fire, as her stress continued to mount. Yet there was more. On one hand, Ranma was an arrogant sex changing pervert. On the other, Ranma was _her_ arrogant sex changing pervert. "Or are you forgetting who gambled their dowry away to--"

_"ENOUGH!!!"_

The scream instantly brought silence to the field of battle. The girl's were now eyes alight with power. She turned to Usa with a icy calm that belied her outburst only seconds earlier. "Usa-chan, have your guard remove the next person who speaks to this topic from the property... Including my mother if necessary." Usa grinned and nodded to her troops, who instantly brought their weapons to attention. The fiancées took a step back. Nodoka began to blink rapidly.

"I will say this one last time." Ranma Saotome-Serenity continued with a calm, but lethal air about her. "I am not a trophy. I am not a meal ticket. I am not a token to be bartered for marriage." Her eyes narrowed on all partied involved as Serenity came to bear. "My honor is my own and I shall not be forced into an arrangement because of somebody else's foolish mistakes," She paused, staring into the Panda, then turn to her mother. "Or others' unrealistic expectations."

"My expectations are _not_ unrealistic." Nodoka stated, now caressing the pommel of her sword like a rattlesnake.

"_Don't._" Ranma stepped forward, matching her mother's mood in full. "Do _not_ try to impose your fantasies of manliness on me. At one time it may have been possible... But now..."

Nodoka considered the girl in front of her that simultaneously represented her son and daughter while Setsuna wondered if Nodoka would take the message that Senny was giving. _The line was there, and don't cross it. _Nodoka continued to tick through her options. If even half of what she was saying was true, then there was a very real possibility that the engagement was no longer a viable option, especially if she was, in fact, heir to an empire. Perhaps a dojo- even as a martial arts heir -was too limited a destiny for her child.

"Perhaps." Nodoka amended thoughtfully. "Perhaps I have been a tad short sighted concerning your ultimate destiny."

"But No-chan!"

Nodoka, turned back to Genma, who had evidentially found some hot water in the interim. "Hush husband. If our child is to be queen of an empire, we should show her our support."

"Saotome-kun!" Soun nearly choked at what was amounting to the dissolution of the pact before his very eyes. "What about the schools?! The heir?! OUR AGREEMENT!!"

Ranma turned a leaded stare onto the panicking father, but was preempted as Setsuna stepped in to take the brunt of what she knew would undoubtedly be a painful ordeal for the Queen.

"And what have you done to hold up your end of the bargain, Soun Tendo?" The green haired woman captured his attention in its entirety. "You don't practice. You haven't passed on your art. None of your daughters are proficient beyond Akane, whose own skill lacks anything to actually pass on--"

"HEY!"

Setsuna ignored the youngest Tendo's outburst while Ranma watched her friend in awe, saying all the things that had been needed said for the longest time now. "In short, there is no joining of schools." She continued, pounding nails into the coffin of the Saotome-Tendo pact. "In fact, joining implies the merger of two or more parts, and I'm failing to see the part you contribute beyond offering your daughters as a bribe, Soun Tendo."

"But we…! I…!"

"And that doesn't even address the fact that Genma Saotome has abdicated the pact on numerous occasions." The mistress of time shrugged. "If there was a deal, it's quite clear that neither of you took it seriously."

Even Nabiki shook her head now. "She's right Daddy."

"Just whose side are you one, anyway?!" Akane blurted, earning a tisking from her sister.

"Just give it up already, Sis." The middle Tendo continued. "While I don't necessarily subscribe to a martial arts code of honor, I can tell you no court in Japan would hold the Saotomes to this pact, such as it is." She shrugged. "Besides, in case you all haven't noticed, I'd say the they already have an heir."

She motioned with her head to the pink haired girl standing off to the side with arms folded across her chest, watching the exchange with a bemused expression on her face.

"I can't believe you would sabotage your own sister like this, Nabiki!" Akane's expression darkened as her face crinkled with rage.

"Hardly." Nabiki snorted with little humor. "Like the Elder here, I'm ensuring our families continued prosperity since it would appear that I'm the only one with the ability or inclination to do so."

"By feeding into Ran-chan's dilutions of grandeur?" Ukyo inserted testily. While she was more than willing to stand back and watch the Tendo contingent self destruct, watching her fiancé's descend into madness wasn't tops on her list for honeymoon plans either.

Nabiki simply sighed. "Is it just me, or does everybody keep forgetting about the giant ship overhead?" She turned back to the magical girls behind her. "Who here thinks Ranma is the Queen of an empire? Show of hands… Now." All nine Senshi raised their hands, including Kamen, Usa, the Kunos and the his Samurai. Kasumi raising her hand behind her with a pleasant smile was simply icing on the cake. Ukyo blinked. Again. "And I'm willing to bet that the guards would too if they weren't so busy holding those futuristic weapons of theirs."

"Hellva delusion, hmm, Senny?" Setsuna nudged her silver haired friend who simply sighed.

"You got _no_ idea."

Akane's rage was now a multi-headed beast, clearly infuriated at her sister, the Saotomes and the green haired woman, but totally unable to choose which target to take it out on. Lacking in a clear path in that regard, the Tendo fell back on habit, turning back to Ranma. "Are you saying you _don't_ want to be with me?"

Ranma winced at the heavy dose venom, but struggled to answer with her newly learned art of diplomacy. "Look, it just ain't the right time. I'm full up on stressful crap at the moment." Serenity would not be fully denied, however. "And what about _you?_ Do you want to be with _me?"_

All eyes turned on her and Serenity knew what the answer was going to be even before she asked the question. In a way, it hurt, but it ultimately made her road a slightly less rocky one to travel.

"I…uh… that is…"

Ranma nodded solemnly, letting the youngest Tendo off the hook by not forcing an answer. The lack of one had been damning enough without witnesses to call any pretense of a relationship into doubt, verbal pact or no. Akane was silent. Shampoo had all but removed herself from the chase. The only person left to talk to now was--

"That just leaves me." Ukyo huffed indignantly, seeing the writing on the wall. "Are you going to buy me off too? Let your honorless father work off the debt? How much is my childhood worth, Ran-chan?!"

It was probably the one thing that could cow Serenity's armor of diplomacy, causing Ranma Saotome to simply hang her head and sigh. "Dammit… I don't know Uc-chan… But marriage ain't the answer." She shook her head, stepping up to the Okanomiyaki master. "I don't know what is, frankly, but I can't marry somebody I think of as a sister. That and I got a bigger responsibility than sticking around to run a restaurant."

Usagi Tsukino sniffled at the touching scene, then glanced to her right to find her future daughter sitting on a nearby lantern, munching popcorn from a bowl. "God, being here in person is _so_ much better than your bedtime stories!"

"Look," Ranma continued in a weary voice. "Not sure what I can do to make it up to you. I'm pretty sure I can repay the dowry." She cast a glance over to Setsuna, who confirmed the fact that they were solvent with a nod. "As Queen I can basically null and void the agreement, I think. No loss of honor to your family."

"The queen crap is starting to get on my nerves, Ran-chan. Especially that dress." Ukyo growled, then took on a marginally less antagonized expression. "I really hate you sometimes."

Ranma smiled slightly. "I really hate me sometimes too."

Ukyo sniffed with a contemptuous air and turned toward the gate. "I have a restaurant to run." She took a few steps, then looked back over her shoulder. "And don't think I've forgiven you or your family yet, Jackass."

Ranma couldn't help but to smile a bit wider now as the chef turned away, making her exit. The long, black haired girl stepped around one of the demolished gate hanging by one hinge and disappeared into the streets. With that, Ranma's fuku wavered out of existence to be replaced by fresh white Chinese silks, once more supplanting their red and black cousins. She stared at the gates just long enough for the next thought to enter her mind. "God, I'm exhausted."

"Same."  
"Here."  
"Ditto."  
"Yep."

The Senshi agreed and their own fukus unraveled, revealing their civilian attire. Setsuna stepped forward. "I think it's time to a call it a day."

Ranma shook her head. "Damn straight." Then stared at the Senshi, her daughter and granddaughter. "Mom's place this time. I don't think I could make it to Juuban tonight."

"We'd be happy…" Nodoka's elbow quickly found Genma's ribs, coaxing him to produce a forced smile. "…to have you and your friends over. And my grand daughter. _And_ my great granddaughter!"

Usa moon blinked, then smiled as the Saotome Matriarch gushed. "Some things never change."

Ranma nodded, then stopped short, turning to Kasumi. "Eh, sorry we trashed yer place. Fix it later. Promise."

The eldest Tendo sister was about to say something, but Tatewaki was already at their side, speaking.

"Nonsense! The Queen's royal hands shalln't touch the implements of common labor." The would-be Samurai protested, then turned to Kasumi. "I shall have a construction crew over by dawns first light."

"Why thank you, Ranma. Tatewaki." Kasumi nodded graciously and watched as the boy not only called in the order, but summon two limos for Her Royal Majesty and friends.

The girls gathered, and Ami stopped, staring back up into the sky. "Um, what about _that?_

'That' was the kilometer long drop ship, which had been gathering crowds all across the city for the last half an hour. Even now, various helicopters and the occasional fighter aircraft buzzed it, attempting to ascertain its purpose.

"Eh, yeah." Ranma agreed and eyed her granddaughter. "Think you can take care of that, Usa-chan?"

"Oh yeah." The pink haired girl smiled agreeably and summoned the dreadnaught AI back into being. "Take her back up to the Asha." Then turned back over her shoulder, "I think I've got enough firepower surrounding us at the moment. Marines! Prepare to embark!"

The armored troopers snapped to attention and briskly marched into a predefined formation. The commanding Captain at its center, a silver armored trooper adorned with a coiled red dragon and pillbox of missiles on each shoulder silently admitted that she was right, at least on principle. Princess Usa was now surrounded by all the guardians, in the company of her mother and more importantly, her _grandmother_. Principle, of course, was worthless to him, considering that almost the entire royal family was assembled in one spot. He'd be damned if he let them trounce around the past uncovered.

The Captain smiled to himself beneath the armored skull plating that made up his helmet. He'd just have to be damn sneaky about it. "Aye Princess, ready to embark!"

Seconds later, their bodied began to distort and vanish into thin air, two at a time. It was only another minute before the armored platoon ceased to exist entirely and the giant ship began to ascend back into the heavens. Ranma didn't even watch it go. Setsuna instead voiced her thoughts exactly.

"God I hope those limos have a wet bar."

* * *

…_First at five! A giant UFO was sighted hovering over Tokyo today…_  
Click.

…_settled into the skies above the Nerima ward. Sources say…_  
Click.

…_Satellites across the North American hemisphere were blacked out today by what NASA calls a large scale EMP event…_  
Click.

…_Sailor Senshi were said to be involved, though it is unknown whether or not they have negotiated a peace treaty with the aliens…_  
Click.

…_Hostile or not? This reported believes that perhaps it is all a hoax. It wouldn't be the first…_  
Click.

…_Seemed to ascend into the sky, outrunning the patrolling fighters…_

Nabiki Tendo lounged back into the sofa with a rather amused expression plastered across her face as she continued to flip through the TV channels, scanning the day's biggest event, UFOs over Tokyo. Beside her, Kasumi watched with moderate interest, perking up on occasion anytime the Senshi were mentioned while their father and little sister sat staring. Whether or not information was actually being processed by the pair was questionable at the moment, as both seemed to be in a state of shock. The middle Tendo shrugged, sparing them a minimal amount of sympathy.

It was, after all, understandable. Ranma had effectively dissolved the arrangement between Saotomes and Tendos and in the process had their fathers competence dismantled piece by piece while Akane's own commitment to the relationship was called into doubt. Neither had acquitted themselves well in the face of such pointed questioning. Nabiki snorted mentally. But then, if one wanted to be honest, even she had to admit that their relationship had been on the rocks since it first began. It had its share of good, but not nearly enough to survive the scrutiny it was placed under tonight, let alone the changes everybody's favorite martial artist had undergone.

And so it fell to her once again to keep the family financially viable. In the end, it had been an easy decision. Granted, she would have never considered it if it had involved the Ranma of a month ago. But not only was this one sharper, but she had backing. First, there was the intelligent green haired woman, Saotome's self proclaimed best friend. Then there was the Senshi. Instant PR there, as well as muscle. The Elder was no small addition to their group of misfits either. The woman was devious, powerful and more importantly, could bring significant resources to the table. And the Kunos. Financial clout in spades, as well as a previously unknown influence among the Samurai families of Japan?

None of that was counting the pink haired girl and her spaceship, claiming to be Ranma's daughter.

Nabiki almost let a chuckle escape past her lips. That had been the coup de gras. She had always been one to play the odds, and if there was any confirmation that throwing in with the wayward martial artist was a sure bet, it was a goddamn spaceship from the future. Even better, Ranma seemed to be agreeable to such a partnership, much to her surprise. It had been the _other_ Ranma looking at her in that moment, taking her measure. There was no doubt in Nabiki's mind that the decision to allow her in on the whole scheme was a calculated one, though the makeup of that equation was still a mystery.

_She just recognizes talent when she sees it_, Nabiki preened. Either way, it promised to be a lucrative venture, which in turn ensured that she could continue to extract revenue from the martial artist where her father and little sister had failed. How much did sitting on the board of directors' to world domination pay, anyway?

The TV continued to flash images of the hammerhead spacecraft, this particular clip playing out as it climbed upward and out of sight, showing the cameras nothing but the bright neon purple of its exhaust plume.

Then there were the reporters. She had handled them and their question as easily as any mark at school, first hinting at inside knowledge, then charging an absorbent amount and finally answering with a tidbit that seemed important but was ultimately useless in nature. After all, it wouldn't do to piss off her future employer, her daughters and magical girl body guards. Did she see the aliens? Maybe, but then, strange stuff happens around here all the time. Were the Senshi involved? Girls in fukus, right? How close was Earth being invaded? Not sure. Looked like they just stopped by for a friendly chat with the girls.

And on it went. Overall, she managed to paint the Senshi and their close encounter in a fairly decent light, that is to say one that didn't have people running for the hills in fear of the imminent alien apocalypse. After all, if they were friends of the Sailor Senshi, they couldn't be all that bad. Nabiki chuckled softy to herself.

All in all, this _much_ more enjoyable than her business at Furinkan.

* * *

Ranma Saotome, heir to the Anything Goes Martial Arts and co-architect of the New Silver Millennium stepped over another rock outcropping as she, Setsuna, Usagi and Usa followed Cologne through the wilds of the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon Elder paused at the next rise, waiting for the trio of girls to catch up while easily balancing on her cane.

All things considered, they were light approximately seven magical girls, victims of attrition. No, they hadn't collapsed during the ten mile hike through the sweltering humidity of the Amazon rainforest. Rather the mighty Senshi were felled by last night's activities, which involved copious amounts of alcoholic beverages. In the end, Ranma had decided to spare the hung over girls in spite of her own pounding head, opting to take only those who could actually stand under their own power by noon. Ranma had only managed through superior biology, while it took staggering amounts of alcohol to actually knock her best friend down. Usa had managed surprisingly well herself while Usagi dodged the alcoholic activities in their entirety. Everybody else, including her boyfriend, were casualties of war. Most surprising however, was Ami, who was found to be a positive _lush_ when properly motivated.

Ranma cleared another patch of greenery and stepped onto the same rise inhabited by the Elder at her side. She was joined seconds later by her unlikely child and grandchild, and the old woman pointed down into a clearing inhabited by several monolith stone spires arranged in a loose circle with another shorter one at its center.

"The Rite." Cologne stated with a frown. "Simultaneously the backbone of Amazonian culture and its very subversion."

Setsuna likewise frowned. "God only knows how many souls that thing is storing."

"It feels awful, Mom…" The pink haired odangos whispered to her blonde odangoed mother. "I mean, you told me about this, but…"

They were feelings Ranma could identify with. Malice radiated from the sacrificial grounds, and there was little doubt in her mind that the place was a manifestation of evil. Two Chinese women in combat silks, one with a scimitar and the other with a spear joined them from the green foliage that made up the bulk of the rainforest, bowing at Ranma's feet.

"The site is clear." Potion reported. "But…"

"But restless." Wax elaborated as Cologne translated. "We can feel the power fluctuating."

"Right. Uh, get up. Both yas." Ranma nodded, still not entirely comfortable with such displays of unrelenting loyalty. "Best we deal with it now, I guess."

Cologne nodded, and the group began the hike down into the Valley of the Rite. Fifteen minutes later, one Elder three magical girls, one martial artist queen and her two Amazon bodyguards came face to face with the imposing stones that made up the outer ring of the grounds. All looked to one another and advanced past them as if by mutual decision. The act triggered power and magic coursed through the air invisibly around them. All seven women primed their magic and ki on reflex, recognizing the dark energies organizing around them. Ranma scanned the area searching for the summoned demons that were sure to come. Instead, they focused in a different manner entirely.

"So, the self righteous Queen has returned."

Ranma spun around to find a ghost standing atop the central alter. She was female, obviously, clad in a flowing purple robe whose folds did little to hide her ample cleavage. Red eyes framed by nearly ground length red hair stared back at her with considerable malice, the evil intent therein obvious to anybody looking upon them. The martial artist boggled in disbelief as the image triggered a cascading rush of memories. She had debated at length with this woman. Had lunches with her. Attend balls. And… fought her. She was… Ranma's voice suddenly turned hoarse.

"_Beryl…"_

"Surprised?" the voice grated in return. "Surprised that I escaped your sealing? Surprised that I still exist despite your best efforts to stay my purpose?"

Ranma simply couldn't tear her eyes away as the memories continued to resonate within her. Friend. Political opponent. Enemy. Demon possessed sorceress.

"She's supposed to be dead!" Moon squealed, instantly processing the transformation to her Sailor moon aspect. The moon stave flashed into existence into her hands, pointing downrange into the smiling phantom. Ranma was too stunned to even do that, while Setsuna looked on skeptically and Usa curiously so. Another figure wavered into existence beside her.

"If I may," The red digital child known as the Brimful of Asha inserted, studying the ghost itself. "The central alter is a complex data core capable of harnessing magical as well as data constructs." The body cocked his head with a slight smile. "This is an AI like myself."

The Ghost Beryl stared down at the boy was a snarl, then returned her gaze back to the women as if to ignore him entirely. "Your pet is correct, though the knowledge will do you little good. As I have already mentioned, my purpose will not be stayed."

The Mistress of Time fielded the obvious question. "And that purpose is?"

"Your complete and utter destruction, of course!" She hissed, eyes glowing brightly. Ranma managed to free herself from memory lock and scrutinized the hologram that wore the guise of her greatest enemy. The fact that was merely a representation did wonders for her self confidence.

"And how are ya gonna do that from the dead?" Ranma smiled grimly, folding her arms with satisfaction. "Ain't as if we'll let you steal any more souls either."

"Arrogance was always your downfall, Serenity Moon." The AI tisked with an arrogance all its own. "I could summon youma to deal with you, but to what end? Even I realize that such an effort would simply be a waste of power, especially when I can put that power to a much more creative use."

"And what would that be, great liar?" Cologne questioned, finally working up the nerves to confront the being that had been considered their goddess for millennia.

"Ah, an Amazon Elder." The ghost chuckled. "How quaint. Your tribe has been horribly useful these last few centuries. Sadly you won't be reclaiming any of your sisters."

"We already got two back." Ranma returned, motioning to her guardians. "Think we'll manage without your help."

"Possibly." The AI admitted, clearly amused. "Given time. Time you no longer have."

With those words, the boy AI stiffened, an alarmed expression overcoming his features. "I'm detecting power buildup along a magical feedback loop, release capacity twelve kilotons and rising, Princesses, Your Highness."

"What!?" Usagi yelped, only to be answered by the gloating hologram.

"My purpose is complete, fools!" the unBeryl crowed. "My master has passed from this realm and I have been compromised. What's an AI to do?"

"Self destruct." Setsuna surmised grimly, earning a wide grin from the phantom.

"But that would be too mundane, wouldn't you agree?" She continued, entirely too eager for her own good, let alone the women surround her. "I had something much more… _grandiose_ in mind."

"Magical buildup has obtained a release potential of fifty kilotons. Rising exponentially now." Brim reported.

Ranma gritted her teeth, addressing the hologram. "Such as…?"

"Why settle for merely you, Queen Serenity?" The AI asked rhetorically. "_When I can crack the entire world in half!_"

"Twenty four megatons." Brim continued. "I'm detecting no fall off in her power curve."

"That's right!" The ghost Beryl cackled insanely. "The instructions my master left were very specific: _No survivors!_"

"Now I can see why you and grandmother never talked about this woman." Usa Moon growled, appalled by the wantonly destructive nature of the construct before her. "Brim, hack the bitch."

"In progress." The boy nodded. "External data link established. Offensive protocols down and running." The little red AI paused. "Target is heavily fire walled and responding with EECM. Mapping numerous defensive software layers." Brim looked up with a frown. "This will take more time than we likely have, Princess. Feedback loop reading 512 megatons of potential and rising."

"Did you honestly think it would be so easy?" the hologram sneered. "I was designed for just this contingency."

"2.48 gigatons."

"Where the hell is she getting all this power?!" Usagi protested. "Can't we just destroy the alter?!"

"HA!" The phantom Beryl snorted. "You're welcome to try!"

"Negative." Brim replied, supplementing his counterparts answer. "She is operating across a distributed network. It is doubtful we would locate every node in time, let alone isolate her to just one. I have mapped 312 thus far and there, though none of them contribute significantly to the buildup I am monitoring. 16.3 gigatons and climbing."

"Then she's feeding off an external source." Setsuna surmised. "Last I checked, China wasn't exactly building any pure heart crystal reactors. She may be tied into a major lei line. It would certainly make her threat a viable one."

Moon shook her head, blonde odangos flowing with the motion. "And exactly where are we going to find one of those?"

Ranma blinked and turned to Cologne, who returned the look of enlightenment. Ranma cursed. "It would have to be that, wouldn't it?"

The Elder nodded gravely. "It is the only significant concentration of magic in the area."

"Damn." Ranma ground her teeth together in frustration, turning to their AI. "If we eliminate the power source...?"

"The feedback loop will unravel." The red data boy stated definitively. "Her data network would more than likely crash as well."

"Spare yourself the trouble." The unBeryl shook her head, mocking the women before her. "In thirty seconds, the loop will collapse in upon itself and dump a 524 gigaton blast straight into Earth's core. Your time would be better spent praying to whatever pathetic God you hold dear."

Ranma shot Cologne one last look, receiving a confirming nod in return. "Goddamn cures were overrated anyway." She mumbled, then addressed Usa's AI. "Brim, target Jusenkyo."

The reaction was instantaneous and the phantom howled in rage. "_NOOO! I will not be denied!_"

Brim simply arched an eyebrow, but relayed the order. Past or not, the girl before him was the Queen of practically all known space according to his protocols. "Fire control reports mass driver number one standing by with 50mm non-fissionable ordinance. The area of effect fallout should be minimal."

"Can you evaluate everybody from the area?" She asked, painfully aware of the clock ticking down. The faces of the Guide and his daughter wouldn't stop her from dropping the anvil, but--

"Four non-combatants already D-shifted to minimum safe range." The boy reported, his youthful voice at total odds with the dire situation at hand. "Ten seconds until loop detonation. Nine. Eight..."

"Nuke it."

Virtually no time passed from her words to the event as seven women watched a knife thin line of light slice through the sky and down into the hills beyond, shattering the horizon in a kaleidoscope of blue and white. For a moment there was no sound, just the lightshow produced by the near light speed impact of an unguided 50mm slug, searing the sky with hard gamma release as it was converted into pure energy. The round's atomization instantly took five square kilometers of Chinese real estate with it, along with nearly one hundred cursed springs, each with their own very, very tragic story.

Then came the sound.

By the time the tempest of raging destruction cleared the valley beyond, its strength had been sapped by the surrounding hills and foliage. What hit Ranma and company was a mere fraction of the fury unleashed upon Jusenkyo, yet still retained near typhoon strength as it swept across their position in a massive wave of over pressure. Trees and Earth were uproot around them as Thor's hammer expended itself on the surrounding landscape, forcing the girls to power up simply to maintain their position, let alone survive the nearly two hundred kilometer per hour debris falling on to them. The roaring freight train lasted another minute before dying down to a low rumbled, finally giving Ranma, Usagi, Usa, Cologne, Potion and Wax the opportunity to rise from their defensive crouches.

The silver haired pigtail girl let out a low whistle as she survey the destruction. Most to the stone ring they had been standing in was either upturned or trashed, while the surrounding rainforest had been thoroughly demolished as well, as if by a giant weed eater.

"Whoa."

She turned with the single word, finding Usagi staring off into the eastern sky. Beyond the hills, an angry reddish cloud drifted skyward, slowly evolving into a grey mushroom as it gained altitude. Cologne simply gaped as a four thousand year old monument of Chinese Amazon history was distributed evenly across the Qinghai providence, a chilling reminder of the power her former son in-law could bring to bear against her adversaries. Setsuna stared for a moment, then turned back to the now lifeless alter. Brim noted the questioning look and supplied the relevant information.

"Our disruption of the lei line caused the power she was maintaining to feed back across her network." The boy explained, slowly calling the rest of the girl's attention away from the expanding mushroom cloud. "The residual power from its de-resolution was more than enough to fry all 467 nodes of her data core."

"Just desserts." Usa hrumped, tossing a pink odango streamer back over her shoulder.

Cologne still had a concerned air about her. "The Souls. What of our sisters?"

Ranma Saotome closed her eyes and concentrated. After a moment, they popped open and she shrugged. "Still floatin' around near as I can tell."

"While the altar's digital matrix does appear overloaded, spiritual containment is intact, shielded." The boy noted, walking around the centerpiece of the Amazon grounds. "It also helps that it was buried sixteen dimensions deep to allow easier access to the demon realms."

"Then retrieval is possible." Setsuna stated with a thin smile, to which the boy nodded back.

"At least in theory." He folded his arms. "With no AI to monitor the dimensional pocket or controlling matrix to govern it, they should be effectively in a holding pattern."

Setsuna nodded, finding the hypothesis acceptable. "Still, we should get Rei in here just to make sure that spiritual containment is kosher before trying to manifest your Amazons back into the physical plain."

Cologne agreed. "A wise precaution." Potion rattled some Chinese off and Cologne nodded at her concerned expression, turning to Ranma.. "Your shield-maiden is correct, son in-law. There is no telling how many of our sisters this pit of despair has swallowed. Best we relieve their suffering as soon as possible."

Ranma Saotome Serenity jerked her gaze away from the smoldering horizon beyond with a serious look. "Trust me. It's on my to-do list."

"We'll port Hotaru in tomorrow." Setsuna stated, staring at the non-functional alter. "We should be able to pull a good number of them out on the first go between--"

"Wait a minute." All the women turned to face the pink haired teen, who was still focused on the billowing gray and orange cloud beyond. "Did we just nuke _Jusenkyo_?"

"Uhhh…" Ranma blinked. The smoldering remains being spread across the landscape were pretty hard to miss.

"As in the _Great Lake_ of Jusenkyo?" Clueless stares coated her person as Usa Moon's face slowly melted into a mixture of shock and surprise. Suddenly, that same expression focused on Usagi. "Why didn't you tell me Grandma was the one that made one of the world's twelve wonders!?!"

"But--!"

"Now wait a minute!" Ranma bristled at the girl. "It wasn't my damn gun!"

The indignant girl now focused on her grandmother. "Oh, and I'll bet _you_ were holding out on me just to see the expression on my face, huh?!"

The redhead's brain quickly sidestepped the paradox of tenses and heedlessly returned fire. "Well if I'd a known you were gonna act like this, I probably would have!"

"You _did_ know I was going to act like this, Grams!"

"Oh, woe be me for siring such disrespectful offspring!"

"MOOOM!"

The Guardian of Time's eyes flick back and forth between the trio as their banter escalated, rubbing her temples in order to preempt the migraine that was sure to be arriving any minute now. Setsuna Meiou sighed, turning back up the hill from whence they came.

She was getting too old for this shit.

* * *

All things considered, it had been a very productive week for Ranma Saotome-Serenity, martial artist extraordinaire and one time galactic ruler. It had also been a tiring one. Between retrieving the fallen Amazons from their spiritual prison to hammering out the details of world conquest, she thoroughly drained. Sure, pulling Amazons back from the dead was tiring, but how was she supposed to know how much detail went into planning world domination?

Then again, it was all coming back to her, albeit slowly and in fragments that left her wondering how the hell she'd pulled it off with a galaxy, let alone planet Earth. _Maybe it was like riding a bike_, she remembered musing sarcastically a few days back. Once you fell off and all that.

The contract Nabiki had written up was surprisingly detailed. It seemed the girl had a positive knack for the finer details of world domination, and it showed in the contractual prose. Not that they could ever take any disputes to a court of law, Ranma smiled as she watched the sister and Inners pump her Granddaughter for information on the future just outside the Tendo household. Of course, those sorts of disputes wouldn't be settled in a court of law anyway, and if all went well, she would _be_ the court of law when it was all said and done.

Definitely weird.

Par for the course, Ranma decided and ended up putting her name on the dotted line two days ago along with Cologne and every single member of the Amazon tribe. The resurrection of their sisters and testimony in her favor swayed the hosts' opinion toward the allegiance decisively, and it she couldn't help but to note the irony in that she now had nearly _three hundred and fifty _bodyguards, swearing their direct allegiance to her _personally_ after being fished out of the void.

Goddamn Amazons.

Thankfully, she was able to leave most of them at home, though no less than twenty five of them insisted on returning with her and were stationed in and around the dojo at this very moment, either silently standing just off to the side or concealed out of sight. Shampoo was her liaison to the group. All were extremely lethal, not to mention fanatic in the protection of their new Queen as they had all spent no less two hundred and fifty years in the late Beryl's demonic holding tank. Needless to say, their skills and survival instincts were honed to a molecular edge, which brought up another point in turn. Most of them were actually _better_ than Ranma herself, which was more than a slight blow to the best martial artist in Japan. Her only consolation to that was the fact that her innate magical abilities were returning as well, meaning that she now had two formidable arts to bring to bear on any violent outbreaks, not just one.

And what to do about Nabiki? In the end, that had been one of her easier decisions made during her initial negotiations with Cologne. It was also a decision largely made through the life and times of Serenity Moon.

_Keep your friends close and your enemies closer_.

Not that Nabiki Tendo was an enemy per se, but it was far better that the sister was on _her_ leash than somebody else's, though it was unlikely the girl knew just what lengths the redhead would go to insure her new empire come to fruition. Agami had already come up with some interesting suggestions concerning the Tendo, such as hacking her bank accounts and slashing her credit scores if it ever came down to it. The AI could effectively render her persons non grata in seconds. Scary. That aside, she knew from experience that Nabiki was just plain good at what she did. Not just good, but liked it; always the hallmark of a good subordinate.

A dull roar broke here thoughts and Ranma looked up to find a large hammerhead axe-head of a spacecraft descending out of the clouds. The silver haired pigtailed girl's eye twitched as the enormous craft shredded the overcast blanket of clouds pervading the afternoon day and slowly closed on their position… After taking the scenic route over downtown Tokyo. She wasn't sure what the going salary was on her budding Monarchy's public relations officer, but she instinctively knew Nabiki would be working her ass off for it.

And probably deserved every penny, if her performance last Friday had been any indication.

The cold shadow crept over the dojo like a storm front, blotting out the sun as it had originally when Usa first arrived. With it brought silence as the Senshi abandoned their conversations in sheer awe. On one hand, ships such as the one above flickered on the edge of all of their perforated pre-incarnation memories. On the other, the thing was simple _enormous_. If even a fraction of what her granddaughter had explained was accurate, the Dark Omen class drop ship sliding above them now was the latest in a line of combat landing craft designed to penetrate high threat surface environments; literally a flying fortress.

In other words, the fighters scrambled from Atsugi air force base now streaking across its starboard posed no threat to it whatsoever.

"Oops!" Usa noted the that all conversation had stopped and glanced at the giant ship as if its arrival were an everyday occurrence. "Ride's here!"

"So it's back to the future, is it?" Setsuna queried with a slight smile as she walked up beside Ranma. "Are you going to be alright? We've already changed your past a bit."

"No problem." Usa shrugged. "You managed to iron out temporal mnemonics a couple of centuries ago, so I'll be just fine."

The Princess of Time opened her mouth, though words failed to come out. Ranma simply stared at the girl for a bit as she had become accustom to for the past week, still unsure of what the future held for them both. She was a wonderful girl. _And_ her granddaughter. That in itself was still a mind bender. It was tough not to return the familiarity Usa was showering them with, as if she had known them all for a very long time.

Usa Moon paused beside Ranma and Usagi with a smile. "I had the Brimful of Asha drop a couple of defense platforms in high orbit around Earth and a few to cover the moon. Those should tide Agami-chan over until she can get to the supply drops we left in the Sea of Tranquility." She took a step, then paused with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Say do you want us to take care of that asteroid or are you going to do it yourselves?"

Ranma and Usagi looked at one another simultaneously, then over to Setsuna, who in turn looked at them, each with an uncertain expression flickering across their features. It vanished as all three came to the same mutual decision.

"Ourselves."

"Okay!" Usa beamed. "Best I be departing before Kuno-sempai arrives!" Without a second glance, she brought her wrist bracer up. "We're leaving!"

"Aye, Princess." A disembodied female voice replied, and Usa's figure began to waver, as if folding across itself.

"Oh," the pink odangoed girl piped even as her voice began to resonate through the dimensional shifting. "Don't forget to nuke the Jurians! And Auntie Unagi says, "Hi Sis, Momma!"

With those last words and an accompanying wave, the girl faded from their sight entirely and the gigantic monolith above their heads began to creep away, slowly gaining altitude as it did so. Terrestrial fighters and choppers began peeling off as it crawled through the layer of overcast, then suddenly ignited with rays of purple fire, accelerating skyward at high speed.

The Senshi and Saotomes watched as the hammer head quickly reduced itself to a dot and disappeared into the only patch of blue sky on an otherwise gray dominated horizon. The silence lasted all of a moment before Setsuna blinked, a curious expression flowing over her features. "Wait… Auntie?"

Ami did some quick genealogy calculations. "If Usa has an Auntie, that means Usagi has…"

"A sister!?" Minako stared incredulously at her blonde counterpart while trying to imagine what the mystery sister would look like, then took on a wondering expression. "Usagi and Unagi… Who the hell names their kid 'eel'?"

Ranma simply snorted, gloating over the girl's shocked expression. "Bout time some of this chaos fell in somebody else's lap."

."Considering that would make you her _mother_…" Setsuna simply arched an eyebrow, waiting for her best friend to make the connection.

The Saotome's smile evaporated like a snowflake exposed to armpits of hell. "Oh no."

"Oh yes."

The silver haired girl's cheek took on a slight tick as her face slowly transformed into one of incredulity and horror. Haruka couldn't help but to chime in at the obvious implication. "So who's the lucky girl, your Highness?"

The twitching gained intensity as the Senshi launched into a full round of gossip and speculation.

"I wonder what she looks like?"  
"When will she be born?"  
"What color will her hair be?"  
"Blonde? Red? Pink?"  
"I have a brother _and_ a sister now?!"  
"Will the Queen or her consort bear the child?"

Conversation screeched to a halt as all eyes locked on to Michiru, who simply stared back impassively. "What?"

Ranma ground her teeth down and cast a baleful glare at her champions. "I hate you all."

It also set Ranma's mind into an entirely new and not so welcome direction. Most of her time in this lifetime had been spent as a guy, with her curse only being two years old. It wasn't exactly a horrific existence, just inconvenient. That, and it never felt like the body belonged to her. Until the Ginzuishou and later, the memories to go with it. Now she had nearly two thousand years of experience and all of it favored a female persona. Much as she would have liked to cast it aside, it was like having to cut off an arm or leg; that is to say, impossible. So what did the future hold for her? She could dump the crystal and revert back to her male self. Not as if she didn't have enough time to decide for herself, though it was an omen of portent that the girl from the future had not once referred to her as grand_father _or even male. Maybe--

_SCrrreeetch!_

Ranma Saotome's thoughts were rudely interrupted by the sound of rubber being brought to a high speed stop on the street outside the tendo property, quickly followed by several more of the sounds. Everybody in the courtyard turned to the gate and watched as it slammed open admitting numerous men in black suits and ties carrying long automatic weapons who flowed around the yard and the girls, taking up positions around them. A few of the more industrious men scaled the rooftop where Ranma had spent many a nights herself and began to unpack and assemble more weapons. The Tendo family bolted stared with in astonishment as their premises were secured, and even Nabiki seemed to have a slightly panicked look on her face. She edged up to the martial artist and whispered out the side of her mouth.

"If this has anything to do with our plans, _I don't know you_."

Ranma barely registered the disavowing of knowledge and hissed back, "Who the hell are these people?!"

Nabiki nodded to one of the closer agents with a smile, who in turn began to talk into his ear piece set. The Tendo tried to look as nonchalant as possible. "Government, unless I missed my guess."

"Then what's with the seven samurai?" Minako asked, motioning to the gate where Tatewaki, his sister and their Samurai body guards were entering through. The upperclassman strode confidentially up to the waiting girls and Ranma in particular as the ring of warriors once again established themselves around her person.

"My apologize for the delay, your Highness!" Tatewaki Kuno bowed with a slight smile, his sheathed family katana balanced lightly over his shoulder. Kodachi likewise smiled pleasantly, bowing as well. "Our audience consumed more time than was previously anticipated."

Ranma almost came through unfazed. Almost. "Uh, not a problem, Kuno."

Nabiki, however, pounced on the unasked question that her new employer either forgot or neglected to address. "So are these your guys, Kuno-baby?"

"Ha!" Kuno rolled with a hearty laugh. "The noble samurai around us suffice for the queen's guard. Nay, the great house of Kuno has no need for further men at arms."

The middle Tendo's eyes flicked to a nearby suit, then another. "So if they're not yours…"

Like so many others over the past few days, Setsuna Meiou felt her gut sink once more and couldn't resist asking the more important question. "Tatewaki Kuno, _who_ was your audience with?"

"The Emperor and Empress of our mighty nation, of course!"

As if taking Tatewaki's cue, another platoon of armed suits walked through the gate at a measured pace, followed by what looked to be a handful of well dressed salary men and… Soun Tendo choked.

"The Emperor!"

"And Empress!" Usagi squeaked, eyes buldging. "Oh my God! They're coming this way! How's my hair!?"

Usagi's hair was largely ignored by the gathering of Saotomes, Tendos and Senshi as the daper seventy year old and his slightly older kimono clad wife drew closer, eyes studying there group intently before focusing on Ranma herself. Nabiki was thinking about putting some distance between herself and the martial artist before the man's face broke into a smile, one mirrored gently by his wife. Nabiki nudged her redheaded companion ever so slightly.

"Make this good, Saotome." She hissed, barely audible to Ranma's ears. "If you get stuck, I'll take cut in and--"

Any coaching she had in mind was immediately derailed as the Japan's first couple stopped and dipped into a low bow before the martial artist, as did the surrounding suits and body guards. The martial artist's eyes widened to five hundred yen pieces and her head whipped around to pry an explanation out of the Kuno's only to find them in the same subservient bow. Even more shocking were the Emperor's next words as he and his wife recovered to their original height.

"The House of the Sun is honored to be in the presence of the House of the Moon once again, your Highness."

Ranma's cheek twitched as the Empress took her hands gently with that same warm smile. "We hope that history proves us to have been worthy stewards over that which you have tasked us through the long night, Serenity Moon sama."

The silver haired girl's wide eyes looked from Emperor to Empress, rapidly coming to the realization that she didn't know to say, and found Nabiki with a desperate look. The middle Tendo simply shook her head with wide eyes that mirrored her own. _Beats the hell out of me_, she emoted silently and Ranma turned back to the waiting royalty. Panic took a slight hold on Ranma and she found herself slipping further into her Serenity aspect for moral support as she waded though yet another decidedly odd political crisis. After all, never in her wildest dreams would she have thought the _Emperor and Empress_ would be bowing to _her_.

And neither did the rest of her acquaintances, by the looks on their faces.

About the only that didn't have the same look of shock on their faces was her best friend and the Kunos. To the former, her royal status was a given even if she was flying blindly into the future at the moment. To the latter… Well, best not go there. How that pair even _knew_ the Emperor, let alone well enough to obtain an audience with him was a question better left to scholars and sages.

"Um, the pleasure is all mine, your Majesty" She inclined her head with a grace she didn't feel, hoping that what she was drawing from her other half was sufficient for the moment. She motioned to the wide eyed blond next to her. "My daughter, Usagi Tsukino."

_See? Even said it without wincing this time_, Ranma crowed mentally as attention was successfully diverted from her and onto the reincarnation of her daughter.

"Please," the Emperor nodded, "Call me Akihito. My wife Kojun." The girl began fidgeting as the royal couple bowed with an equal amount of reverence for the Silver Millennium's heir apparent.

Attention turned back to Ranma and she felt the burning need to deflect it once again. "My parents, Nodoka and Genma Saotome."

"A pleasure." The Empress nodded, only bowing slightly this time, enough to display respect befitting the parents of a galactic ruler while Nodoka beamed proudly. Yes, if a tradeoff between the pact of being man amongst men and destiny was to be made, this particular outcome was becoming more than satisfactory with each passing moment! Queen of an empire, grandchildren, _great_ grandchildren, the respect of the Emperor and Empress… _Yes,_ Nodoka thought to herself, woman amongst women was looking rather attractive at the moment and she had so wanted a daughter when little Ranma was first born… Genma on the other hand squirmed like a bug caught in the spotlight, hoping to _God _that they hadn't been reading up on his criminal record.

"May we inquire if there will be anymore… visitations, your Highness?" The Emperor inquired with a slight smile, motioning vaguely to the sky above.

Ranma mentally frowned as attention returned to her person, but bore it with determination. "Eh, No. I think Usa has gone home. Probably." Ranma's unsteady gaze flicked over to the pleasantly smiling Kunos. "They didn't cause you too much trouble, did they?"

"Tachi-kun? Goodness no." Kojun smiled warmly. "Though I must admit, we both found it hard to believe when he informed us that you had returned to us after all this time. After all, all of our attention had been focused on your daughter up until now."

"Tachi_-kun_?" Nabiki stared at the kendoist with an eyebrow raised in disbelief while Usagi choked on the first ladies words.

Setsuna merely smiled, as if the statement were a given. "You've known all along."

Akihito returned her smile. "It is rather hard to ignore the activities of a certain group of magical girls defending the populace from extra-demonic activities." He turned back to Ranma. "It doesn't help that your daughter is, shall we say, rather obvious in her efforts."

"Yeah, been trying to break her of that." The martial artist nodded ruefully as Usagi turned bright red in embarrassment.

"Indeed." The man concluded. "From there, it was simple putting two and two together, especially given our families mutual history. It has been a chore to keep their real identities a secret, admittedly."

Ami's own eyes widened now with the new information. "Just how much _do_ you know?"

The Empress grinned impishly. "Everything, my dear. Suffice to say we put the countries' tax revenues to good use."

"Evidentially." Ami nodded dumbly.

Both husband and wife took amusement at the shocked expressions on the magical girl's faces before the Emperor's dropped in favor of a more serious tone. "I must ask, do you plan on rebuilding the great empire?"

Ranma considered the question and the ramifications as only Serenity could. Answering yes would potentially step on the toes of not only an ancient family linage, but one of the cornerstones of Japanese culture. The last thing she wanted to do was alienate potential allies, but if she was going to protect all of humanity, it was a necessary step. That, and she was apparently well received to at least some degree. She weighed a few more options before going with the tool that had served her best over the years-- the truth.

"Yeah, I was planning on it." Ranma admitted. "There's a lot goin' on out there and it's my duty to protect everybody from it. Hope it doesn't screw up any plan you both had."

"Not at all!" The Emperor smiled. "In fact, we would be honored to help the House of the Moon ascend to its former glory. Our families have always shared close relations, after all."

"Uh…"

"Of course, it wouldn't be prudent to do anything too drastic at the moment." The Empress cautioned with a conspiratorial smile. "And I suspect the parliament will have a fit once they realize just how little power they actually have."

"Um…"

"Perhaps now would be a good time to mention the assets we have in place in China." Nabiki stepped forward, having regained her mental equilibrium now that she was back on the familiar ground, that being Ranma's chief advisor to world domination.

"Oh, this should be most exciting," the Empress gushed.

"Perhaps over tea?" Kasumi stepped forward without missing a beat, leading the royal couple toward the house as the ever polite hostess.

"Certainly." The Emperor smiled, then turned back to Ranma. "You will, of course, be joining us?"

"Eh, tea. Yeah. Of course." Ranma returned, numbed once again as events began to spiral beyond her reckoning. At least she wasn't alone, she noted, as nearly all of the Senshi, her daughter, parents, Soun and Akane stood in a similar state of awe. Only Setsuna remained with her wits about her and a smile plastered across her face. Ranma gave her a testy look.

"You're enjoying this too damn much, Setsy."

"Almost as much as your baby shower." The Mistress of Time remarked as she passed her best friend on the way to the house for some tea and crumpets with the Emperor and Empress of Japan.

* * *

Ranma Saotome, heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial arts and ruler of the former Silver Millennium stared silently at the stars as she laid back on the rooftop of the Tendo dojo, enjoying the peace and quiet it provided. It also gave her the opportunity for memories and lifetimes to reconcile themselves with one another in peace, instead of the pressure cooker of experience she had endured over the last three weeks.

And to think those were actually simpler times.

They had seemed like insurmountable problems before. After all, who else had to deal with four women claiming her as their fiancé, super powered villains and the inevitable monthly kidnapping of one Akane Tendo? Now, they were actually the _least_ of the problems vying for her attention. _Now_ she was training magical girls, plotting the takeover of China, resurrecting a Moon fortress with technology thousands of years in advance of that presently available, getting to know her reincarnated daughter all over again--

_Thunk!_

Speaking of which. The top of a ladder found the edge of the roof and the light click of steps echoed in the night as its wielder ascended to the top, blonde odangos and blue eyes clearing the ledge and finding her with a light smile.

"Heyas Sa-chan."

The smile widened and the girl known as Sailor Moon cleared the top of the ladder and swung herself onto the wooden shingles next to Ranma. The movement forced the girl to smooth the long skirt back to a modest length as she settled down beside her first mother.

"Kasumi told me you might be up here." Ranma nodded with her own smile. As foreign as the concept was, having the girl around- her _daughte_r -filled no small part of her soul with warmth. "She said it was where you came to think."

"Yeah, been doin' lots of that lately." The silver haired girl admitted and returned her gaze to the evening stars.

"It was the same with me." Usagi admitted, lying back onto the roof in much the same position as her reincarnated mother. "I wasn't sure I could handle being a magical girl, let alone the reincarnated princess of an ancient, magical empire."

"Heh." Ranma chuckled, her head rolling back to bear on her daughter's face. "Sounds pretty familiar. I'm getting' the hang of it… Slowly. Growin' up a guy ain't helpin' much though."

"And the memories." Usagi nodded with sigh. "Sometimes I wish I had them all. It would make things a lot easier. Probably would ace all my tests at school…"

"I hear a 'but' in there." Ranma noted, earning a nod from her daughter.

"But then I worry about what happens to 'me'." She frowned upon voicing the concern aloud. It wasn't something she had shared even with her protectors, the champions of a realm long forgotten. "What happens to me, the normal, everyday school girl?"

"Or the boy trained as a martial artist since he could walk."

"Exactly." Usagi agreed. "I can deal with a trickle of memories, but sometimes…"

"It overwhelms ya. Yeah, been there, done that." Ranma propped herself up and the new position caught her silver hair at just the right angle, causing it to very nearly glow of its own accord. She shook her head and tapped a single finger to her temple. "There's just enough up her to keep me guessin'. Say the wrong thing or see somethin' familiar and we start to sound like her again. Or me. Or somethin'."

Usagi contented herself with silent agreement, staring at the silver hue that now surrounded the girl's head. That by itself was triggering all sorts of vague associations of her long dead mother, kept only in check by the fact that Ranma's hairstyle remained in a short pigtail, not the long silver streamers of memory.

"I wonder if they'll all come back at all."

"Beats the hell out of me," Ranma snorted with dry amusement. "Though God knows my plate is mighty full at the moment."

Usagi joined her mothers sitting position with a smile now. "Who would have thought, a coronation ceremony hosted by the Emperor and Empress!"

"Yeah, tell me about it." Ranma shook her head in equal parts irritation and awe. "Nabiki says I'll be the defacto ruler of Japan when it's all said and done."

"I still can't believe it." Usagi giggled, and Ranma threw an annoyed, but amused look her way.

"Laugh it up, Sa-chan." She snorted. "Cuz you can be damn sure my heir is gonna be suffering there right beside me."

"What?!" The blonde's eyes widened suddenly as all traces of humor were wiped clean from her face. "Nobody else will even know about it for years! It's a gesture of good will! Why do I need to be there!?"

Ranma Saotome savored the girl's agony for another few moments before her face dropped into a neutral expression. "I have been thinking about a few things, Sa-chan." The girl blinked, immediately noticing the displacement of the girl's rough speech in favor of a more refined tone. _That really is Mom in there! _She realized, and the thought sobered her faster than any threat a secret state sponsored coronation could ever hope to produce. "First, you have my full blessing concerning Endymion and yourself. Bring him to the dinner to formalize your union."

Ranma-Serenity Moon noticed the jaw drop and smiled gently. "I do not remember everything, but I remember glimpses of The Fall. He acquitted himself honorably then and he upheld that tradition in the here and now." She nodded to herself, seemingly satisfied with her own conclusion before moving on to the next topic on her mind. She held out a hand and the Ginzuishou flashed into silent existence, floating. "_This_ I remember clearly." Usagi now stared at the multifaceted gem whose own innate glow was now augmented by the moonlight, much as Ranma's silver hair did. "This was my project for many centuries; repairing this fractured remnant of a dead world.

The silver haired martial arts queen took Usagi's hand with her free one and the crystal settled gently into the palm responsible for it. Ranma curled her fingers around the shining relic and pressed it into her daughter's hand, pushing the girl's state of disbelief to epic levels. "As I recall, I left it as your inheritance. It is only right that I should return it to you."

"But! But! You can't! I--"

Ranma curled Usagi's fingers around the crystal and removed her own hand. Even as she withdrew it, the magic of Jusenkyo reasserted itself and the Saotome's body shifted back to its natural form, causing the daughter to gasp as the curse produced a 5'8" black haired boy before her very eyes. Sure, she had seen it once already, but that didn't lessen the shock one iota. Even Ranma seemed slightly stunned as he blinked the affects away.

"That was… different." He admitted, staring at his now larger male hand though his pattern of speech remain consistent with the woman Usagi identified as her mother. "This is going to take some getting use to… Not like I don't have a few years to figure it out I guess." The blonde simply continued to stare as Ranma reached into subspace and pulled out a thermos of cold water, splashing herself back into the silver haired girl before addressing her daughter's curious gaze. "That will make this easier. Too much female for that body at the moment." Usagi simply nodded dumbly. "As I was saying… The stone was simultaneously my guilt and redemption, and now I have a new one to focus on."

"A new… Ginzuishou?"

Ranma Saotome nodded. "The Silver Millennium. It is dead, shattered under my rule much like Meridian. I will not have you inherit my ashes, daughter." Usagi Tsukino was speechless. There it was. The rebirth of the Silver Millennium right before her very eyes. "Learn the lessons of that in your very hands and you will make a fine heir when the time comes."

Usagi stared at the warm smile Ranma offered her, then down at the crystal glowing warmly in her palms. In that moment, a decision was made, memories or no. "I… I will… Mom."

Ranma nodded and the warm smile faded into a roguish grin. The Queen's hand began to glow and a slight wisp of steam escaped the open thermos top. Warmed sufficiently through ki, Ranma upturned the remains of the water onto her head and shifted back to his male aspect.

"Wierd." He admitted, then chuckling at the wide eyes that now considered him once more. "C'mon, Sa-chan. Lets go down stairs and give everybody a surprise they won't forget."

_**End.**_

* * *

**Author's notes**  
And that is the end of today's lesson. First, sorry about the delay, as my ISP crapped out. I orginally had this slated for new years release. Hope you all enjoyed the ride as much as I did, and shame on anybody who didn't think I was going to complete this fic… or my other ones, for that matter :P Inspiration was borrowed from a number of sources, as you may have noted; Among them, XCom, Warhammer 40k, a splash of Honor Harrington, Lyrical magical girl and a recycled theme from one of my DOA fics (see below). Overall, I'm quite pleased with this fic from my own POV, more so than Best of Times. Part of the reason for that is my expanded knowledge of the SM universe, which helps plot coherency a great deal. I'm sure it's not perfect, but nothing is, so I'll take what I can get. Of course, any lovin' is good lovin—

Er, nevermind that.

In the end, I'll be honest and admit that the premise of this fic isn't all that original, and it came down to a simple question when the idea first came to mind—What Senshi _hasn't_ Ranma been reincarnated as? Thus, I aimed for the lowest common denominator: Queen Serenity. The idea was born as an offshoot of tBoT, then merged with the original HttE. After that, it was pretty easy to avoid the 'NotARanma' fic stereotype, since I decided early on that their personalities would parallel one another, a feat made even easier since I was type-casting Serenity as a more militaristic ruler, only mellowing after her first child. Like Ranma, she had a well honed sense of honor, was the best at what she did and was able to make the hard decisions, damn the consequences. The only thing separating the two is experience.

It ends! _Some of you might find it odd that I let Ranma get the crap beat out of her in the final battle, but look at it this way-- Sure Ranma is a prodigy, but she's only 17. How much martial arts could she possibly have on a 200+ year old Amazonian Elder? He knows exactly, what, two techniques from their school? Plus these are elders. It isn't a stretch to assume they're the best of the best, potential prodigies in their own rite._

Temporal mnemonics:_ Changing the past creates numerous problems for those in the future, especially for those from the future participating in the past; The classic 'son from the future killing his father before being born' paradox is the most extreme example of this. Assuming the events are minor enough, the traveler might still exist, but find their memories altered with no conscious realization of the actual event once they return to their native timeframe. To counter this, the Setsuna Meiou of Usa Moon's time has developed protocols to counteract the effects of temporal mnemonics that would otherwise leave the person unaware that changes even took place. Theoretically, these protocols would only encompass slight changes to the timeline, not the massive timeline reformatting that Crystal Tokyo, Chiba Usa and her future Setsuna Meiou were subsequently destroyed by._

_Matchups; As you can see, none. I ac**t**ually feel the sto**r**y is better for it, revolving mostly aro**u**nd Ranma's evolution and her friendship with Sets**u**na. Obviously the future holds something in store for Ra**n**ma, but like the cast, it will remain a teasing un**k**nown to you. On that note, I was considering **s**cripting Ranma's second child as a pink haired boy from another popular anime, who carried a sword with him everywhere. Assuming you could figure out who that was, Ranma's gender and the husband would have been painfully apparent. In the end, I decided crossing over another series in such a vague manner so late in the game would detract from the fic. That, and the hints I provided my proof readers seemed to fall on deaf ears. If they fail you as well, re-read this paragraph carefully and know true horror._

Joining the Schools; _Here I have Setsuna thoroughly dismantle the Tendo-Saotome agreement. The original agreement can, of course, be interpreted many ways and I take one of the harsher available. The reason I sell the Tendos so short here is because of Akane's skill level compared to nearly every main character in the series and Soun's demonstrated level of activity in the same arena. That's next to nothing, btw. Akane is good, but she has no special techniques that seem to be the hallmark of other complex school styles. In the end, she practices by herself and her father is never once shown to have coached the girl either in flashback or present day. Considering that Genma, also a student of Happosai, has numerous special techniques and continuously trains his son, I find the Tendo end of the bargain disturbingly lacking. _

_Again, it's easy to be generous here as well-- The Anything Goes Indiscriminant Grappling could be very well demonstrated as Akane's brawls with the Furinkan militia; that being an expert against multiple opponents. As Trimatter has pointed out to me, the bargain is easily fulfilled if that is the case. Unfortunately, it doesn't address the other concerns-- Compared to the other martial artists, she is lacking. Likewise, her father doesn't appear to have taught her any of advanced techniques that Genma has obviously benefited from under Happosai. As every female character in anime wields a mallet o' chi, I can hardly count that. Demon head Soun might work… If Akane ever displayed its usage herself. In the end, I look upon the Tendo end of the School poorly, having produced an heir of some repute, but nothing in the way of higher martial arts skills. Of course, my supposition hinges on the fact that Soun Tendo actually was of a skill level above his daughter and had his own techniques to teach._

Finale; _For your reading pleasure, I'm including the original incarnation of Heir to the Empire. I posted a link to it in an earlier chapter, but that link is dead now and half you don't check the ANs anyway, so here it is. Don't ask for more because its effectively dead :p Minimal editing comes with the territory, so read at your own risk._

* * *

**Heir to the Empire** (alpha)  
_By Ozzallos_

**T**he Elder Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku Amazons watched from the nearby rooftop as another of her great granddaughter's plans descended into maddening chaos. Cologne sighed. She had warned her against the use of the Passion dust on son in-law, but Shampoo would not listen. To her, it was the perfect plan. All she had to do was sprinkle the dust on her victim and he would fall in love (and lust) with the next person he saw for the next five hours. More than enough time for a date and passionate trice, the purple haired Amazon figured. Once duly bedded, her Airen would be honor bound to recognize her as the sole legitimate fiancée and the circle would be complete. Sure, he might not love her immediately after the fact, but he would undoubtedly in time.

Would have, if the younger Amazon had actually hit her intended target. Instead, one of her deliveries went awry and into a group of high school girls walking home with all too predictable results. The first male they saw was Ranma and they swarmed over him like locus over a field of crops. The favored fiancée, Akane Tendo was obviously incensed while Shampoo desperately tried pulling one girl after another off of her beloved. The tussle had attracted the stick boy, who promised to smite the evil sorcerer Saotome for enslaving yet another harem of women while Mousse had somehow picked the lock on his cage to assist Kuno in his efforts. The insane girl showed up next, determined to beat the lust crazed school girls to their man and the Spatula girl violently intervened on his behalf.

All in all, Cologne couldn't help but to be amused, especially when son in-law managed to extract himself from the riot unnoticed, fleeing at high speed. She gave the melee one last look. It'll probably be another ten minutes before they realize he was gone, and while she would have liked to stay for the rest, Cologne had business to take care of… Son in-law business.

Ranma felt her presence a fraction of a second before she landed on the Tendo roof with the light tap of her cane and smiled mentally. Of course, a fraction would see most people dead against the person at his back, but it was a far cry better than what he'd been able to detect six months ago, which was absolutely nothing.

"Whaddya want, Old Ghoul?"

_WhaP!_

"OW!" Ranma turned around fully to face his newest source of irritation, as if the four fiancées, three rivals and so many love stricken school girls weren't enough. "Ya know, I came up here to get away from that!"

The Elder chuckled softly. "My, what a ruckus you cause son in-law. Most men would sell their soul for the number of women that pursue you." Her grin widened. "Why if I were two hundred years younger…"

Ranma paled at the thought, eliciting another chuckle. "Hmmf. If they can take being poisoned, stabbed and beaten every other day, they're more than welcome."

Cologne watched the boy as he gave her a final glare and relaxed, laying back onto the roof to watch the clouds above. Yes, I can see where he comes from, she thought as she studied the martial artist. Maybe in another time and place, Shampoo could have won his heart. Maybe if she hadn't had to kill him first. Maybe if there were no other fiancées to interfere. Maybe if somebody of character raised him. But then, maybe not. There was always destiny to consider. She was secretly pleased at the moment, however. While the tension remained, there was apparently enough mutual respect between the two for him to leave himself open as he did now to watch the clouds. For all of his faults, it was one of his more redeeming qualities. The boy rarely held a grudge. Oh, he wouldn't forget a trespass, but he wouldn't become a slave to vengeance either. Only once had she seen the Saotome take a step in that direction and she shivered to think how far he would have taken his vengeance if the Tendo girl had actually died. Saffron was God. A minor one to be sure, but God nonetheless. In short, he was the best martial artist of his generation, period, which brought her to the boy laying at her feet. Or cane as it were.

"What are your plans, son in-law?"

A single eye opened up, considering the elder balanced above him carefully. "Not to be your son in-law?"

Cologne let a small smile escape her mask. "Yes, I think it is time to move beyond such petty scheming." Now the other eye popped open, her unusual words gaining his attention. "It has become obvious that such dealing have only hindered our plans, so a new path must be taken."

Ranma sat up, now thoroughly intrigued. "I won't be marryin' Shampoo."

The Elder nodded. "As of this moment, any pursuit she chooses of you is a purely personal matter…" She paused for a moment with trepidation. It was the trump card she had relied on for so long and was now about to throw away. It was _hard_. "This is no longer a tribal matter."

She now had Ranma's complete and undivided attention and his stare burned into her. "That would mean…"

"The kiss protocols are at this moment null and void."

Ranma gaped, as if not believing his own ears, but quickly came to his senses. "And Shampoo?"

Definitely a man of honor, Cologne approved. Even with freedom in his grasp he still thinks of others first. "Absolved of any honor debt to the tribe on my authority."

Ranma blinked. It was all so… Unbelievable. It wouldn't get rid of Shampoo outright, but it wasn't an insignificant offering either.

"Why?"

She considered the boy, deciding it wasn't quite time to lay all the cards on the table yet. "Other considerations have come into play son in-law. Until I can confirm the final sign, that is the most I can offer you at the moment."

"Sign?" The martial artist's curiosity was piqued now.

Cologne nodded once more but declined to answer the question. "Good day, son in-law" With that, she was gone, roof hopping along the horizon.

Akane was… Ruffled. The two sisters and the respective household fathers watched the youngest daughter with morbid fascination as she stalked her prey, one Ranma Saotome, heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts.

"And exactly where did you run off too?" Deadly venom dripped from her voice and her fiancé took an involuntary step back.

"Listen Akane, it's not…" her eyes narrowed, cutting off his explanation decisively.

"LOOK AT ME!" Akane's furnace of anger soared out of control. Ranma looked at her clothes and the state of dishevel the were in. "I had to fight off seven school girls and three of your fiancées while YOU RAN OFF!"

Ranma's timidness evaporated instantly with the words. "You were trying to mallet me too! _While_ I was being mugged by school girls! And fiancées! And my rivals!"

Akane's battle aura flared to life and a mallet appeared in her hand. "No excuses!" Ranma considered dodging, but the hammer had a +2 to strike versus pigtailed fiancés. He never stood a chance. The impact didn't hurt. His transition through the house wall only stung. The rock he skipped off of outside, however was a different story. The impact bounced him like a pop-fly ball, sending him into a high arc that could only land in one place.

_SPALooooOSH!_

Ranma's hands dug into grassy earth. She blinked. Grassy earth? That should be a wet koi pond, right? She ran her hands across the uneven carpet of grass and took mental stock of the situation. Letsee… Akane. Mallet. Wall. Rock. Pond. Grass was nowhere to be found in that abbreviated series of events. She pushed off the ground and looked into a distinctly unfamiliar sky, framed by a jagged mountain range. Impossible. She _knew_ these mountains. They were…

_ChaaNG!_

Her head whipped around, instantly identifying the sound of metal biting into metal. Swords. Battle. Ranma ran across the clearing and stumbled up a hill, the sounds of armed combat intensifying as she asended. The pigtailed girl cleared the crest of the hill and was greeted by a sight that should have only been seen in movies. It was a massive battle comprised of a large group of predominantly male combatants surrounding a smaller group of females. Amazons, Ranma mentally tagged and watched as they attempted a breakout. The agony of metal cried out once more as the Amazon's re-engaged, cutting down their attackers in like wild animals lusting for blood. No, Ranma decided as he watched the carnage below. Not animals. They were a tightly organized unit that slew their captors with deliberate precision.

But they were going to lose.

Despite there skill, the numbers were against them and they were being slowly whittled away by the encircling attackers. At the center of the Amazon's formation stood a tall Chinese women, her raven black hair streaming down. She issued battle commands to her warriors and led the effort to inflict the highest number of casualties on their enemy before they too fell. A command was yelled from the back of the enemy lines and the horde of armor clad troops pressed forward. The Amazon defense crumbled under the weight of the assault until all but the most skilled of warriors held the line, their lesser fallen in battle. They numbered ten against the world. Finally the raven-haired woman stopped issuing commands and unsheathed the strait edge of her jian. She turned her head and Ranma now found himself in direct eye contact with the woman and something passed between the two. Familiarity. The martial artist gasped and the circle of combat closed. Eight warriors. Five. The leader's shield maiden finally fell and the warrior was by herself, blade flashing to fight an impossible battle. She held for another ten minutes before a blade arced in and impaled her shoulder.

"AAHHHHaaaaRRR!" The cry was simultaneous and Ranma clutched her own shoulder to guard the invisible wound. Her sword dropped and both women fell to the earth, bitter blackness claiming them.

"RANMA!"

The martial artist's eyes snapped open to find three women hovering over him—Mother, Akane and Kasumi. The first thing she did was feel her left shoulder, only slightly relieved that there was no wound to be found.

"Are you alright, Son?" Nadoka asked along side Kasumi. Akane hung back in guild, though her eyes were still saturated with concern.

"Tieu Shu." Ranma whispered and the women looked at her intently. A look of annoyance crossed Akane's face. The redhead rubbed her head, her cranium pounding with pain.

"Ranma, you're not…Um, Ranma-_chan_ again are you?" Kasumi asked tentatively, remembering the last time he had received a similar knock on the head.

She shook her head, but frowned. "Nope, just me. But…"

"But what…?" It was Akane this time.

Ranma opened her mouth, then closed it with realization. "That wasn't a dream." The women looked at the girl as fear began to cloud her eyes.

"Ranma…?"

"I've got to go." The martial artist stated suddenly, standing up from her futon. Akane took offense at the sudden proclamation.

"To see Tieu Shu?" Akane fumed. She knew the name of a fiancée when she heard it.

"Close, Akane. Very close." Ranma was gone through the open window, leaving the stunned women in his wake.

"Airen!" Ranma sighed as he stepped into the Cat Café whose staff was recovering from the recent dinner rush. Shampoo bounced over and glomped onto an arm, totally oblivious to the fact that she was still wearing her girl-type. "Ranma go on date with Shampoo?"

"Uh…" Ranma stammered, cheeks turning pink. "I actually need to see your grandmother."

Shampoo nodded sharply and began to drag him around the numerous tables to the back counter, never releasing the vice-like glomp. "Great Grandmother, Airen to see you!"

The elder pogo'd over on her staff from the cash register, noting the look in her eyes. This should be interesting, she thought. "So, son in-law, that's a nasty lump on your head. Which fiancée gave it to you this time?" She chuckled at her own humor and even Shampoo couldn't help but to giggle.

"Tieu Shu."

The humor died away instantly and Ranma knew she had scored a hit. _What _was hit she had no idea, but the old bag _knew_ something. Even Shampoo uncoiled from Ranma now, staring at her curiously.

Shampoo was about to say something when her great grandmother held up a silent finger to silence her. She studied Ranma very carefully now. "Tell us about Tieu Shu, son in-law."

Ranma shrugged, but her expression was tightly controlled. "It was a fierce battle of about thirty Amazon warriors in full battle dress surrounded by a force of nearly seventy wearing armor."

"Airen study Amazon history now?" Shampoo asked curiously and Cologne motioned the redhead to continue.

"It was also a losing battle even though the women fought bravely. Their numbers where thinned until only she remained. She held out for nearly ten minutes against the remainder of the force." Ranma recounted the vision as a feeling of dread flowed though her body. It wasn't the vision that caused the dread but the intensity of the elder's attention to her tale. This couldn't be good.

"Describe her." It wasn't a request.

"About six foot, long black hair. She wielded an jian in combat." Ranma noticed the impassive Cologne stare and Ranma was determined to break it. She wanted answers. "Her shield maiden was closer to my height, had blue hair in a short crop. Her weapon was a polearm and she was the last to fall before Tieu Shu."

Ranma got her wish. The matriarch's mask faltered and her next words came out as a whisper. "Where was she stricken?" Ranma didn't say a word, instead opting to touch her left shoulder, drawing it down diagonal to indicate the exact declination of the strike. She had _felt_ it herself.

"Hiyaaa…" Shampoo gasped and Cologne shook her head. It wasn't often that Ranma could find a dumbfound look on the elder's face. Somehow she couldn't bring herself to gloat over the fact at the moment.

Ranma came to the easiest conclusion given their reaction. "It wasn't a dream, was it?"

Cologne shook her head. "No. Great grand daughter, a short history lesson please."

The young Amazon nodded, purple locks swaying with the action. "Tieu Shu leader of last great Amazon dynasty one thousand five hundred year ago." The time frame focused Ranma's attention immediately. "Was betrayed by Musk and led into trap, surrounded and taken captive." Shampoo sneered at the act. "Shattered Amazon power to present day."

"She didn't die at the battle?" Ranma asked, unconsciously touching her shoulder as she did.

"No." Shampoo confirmed. "Execute later."

Ranma gasped and Cologne studied her reactions. "Do you know _how_ she was executed, Son in-law?"

The feeling of dread crept back in. "One-thousand five hundred years ago…" The date resonated through her entire being.

Cologne saw by the look on her face that Ranma fully comprehended where she was taking the story. "Indeed, son in-law. She was the first."

Silence pervaded the trio until Ranma finally found the words to express the pressure building inside. "Well why in the hell is she haunting me?!"

"Tieu Shu haunt Ranma?!" Shampoo leaned forward in disbelief. "Airen do something too-too good or too-too bad, wonder which?"

"I may know," Cologne began, considering the martial artist in a new light. "But I will have to wait for the signs to manifest themselves fully."

This was all just GREAT, Ranma thought as yet more chaos descended down upon her life like the karmatic sledgehammer of God. Ok, bring taken away from his best childhood friend, wrapped in fish sausage, tossed into a pit of starving cats, starved in China, cursed _twice_ in China, stalked by Amazon assassins, engaged to three fiancées, _and_ having a nonstop parade of rivals in her life apparently just wasn't enough. _NNOOOooOOO!_ I have to get my sorry butt haunted by the millennia old ghost of the cursed spring I fell into!

"And what's this about 'signs' anyway?" Ranma asked testily, realizing another turd was about to fall into the crapper.

Cologne produced a dead smile. "Let's just say that Tieu Shu might be paying you another visit."

A fist clipped Ranma's rib as he attempted to break contact, failing to execute the move quite fast enough. He rolled out across the ground and recovered into defensive stance, painfully aware of the throbe in his side. I maybe able to take him eight out of ten times, Ranma thought, but he can still throw a punch. Not that he'd ever admit that aloud, he amended.

"What's wrong with you, Boy?!" Genma landed from his midair strike, ready to renew his offensive. "Getting a little slow, aren't you? I know girls that are faster than you!" Ranma's face contorted into a mask of anger and Genma Saotome knew he had struck a nerve. In a way, it was rather surprising since he hadn't been able to use the girl insult with much effect for a while now.

Ranma's temperature rose rapidly. "Who the hell you calling a girl!?!?" He blurred forward and cut through his father's guard like a buzz saw. "I ain't no girl!" Genma's counter attack was deflected wide his sin's fist quickly found the father's ribcage and chest. A round house kick later to the chest and Genma dropped into the koi pond with a geyser of water …promptly soaking one pigtailed martial artist.

Water dripped off the now female Ranma and she glared at her father that was now a panda. "Si pook gaai."1

Nabiki looked at Ranma curiously as she sat down for breakfast. "Um, what did you call him again?"

Ranma snorted with contempt. "A loser, of course." That's when he noticed that all three sisters and his mother staring at her intently. "What?"

"Right. In Chinese?" Nabiki pointed out.

Ranma simply blinked without a clue. "Whaddya mean?"

Nabiki leaned forward with interest. "You called him an loser in Chinese."

A scowl crossed Akane's face as she remembered last night's trespass. "Been taking lessons from the Amazon hussy???"

Ranma scooted back from the table under the scrutiny of both sisters. "Hey! I don't know no Chinese!"

"Yes, Son," Her mother chimed in. "It's not manly to insult people in languages they can't understand."

A paniced look crossed Ranma's face and her features drained of color. "It ain't my fault!"

Akane's anger was temporarily abated as curiosity got the better of her. Her fiance's reactions were a little… Off. "Then whose fault is it?" Ranma sat in frozen silence.

"Maybe that lump is still affecting her…" Kasumi volunteered. "Ranma, how do you… Feel?" Ranma's eyes were blank. The lights were on, but nobody was home. "Ranma?"

Chapter Two 

Ranma was somewhere else. A huge room to be exact, lit by the glow of torchlight. Shadows flicked as the flames danced, reflecting off the various ordainments and weapons hanging from the great chamber's walls. The hall was filled with armed guards and their entire focus was on the magnificent throne near the back wall. Ranma stepped of the cobbled stone floor and onto a plush red carpet that led strait to the throne. The seat was inhabited by a man scaled in heavy armor with traditional Chinese silk beneath. Herb, Ranma hissed, but realized this was not the defeated nemesis he defeated long ago. The garb was quite similar though the features were not. This one had a crop of dark blue hair with bright pink highlights that draped low across his shoulders. At his feet was the raven haired Amazon flanked by two heavily armored guards.

She closed the distance with a trepid walk and the details began to filter in. It was the woman from the battle at the prince's feet and she was a mess. Tortured, Ranma realized with disgust. The man leaned into Tieu Shu and sneered.

"Will you talk now? This will be the last time I offer you a quick death." The prince whispered, menace carrying through with it. "All I require is the location of the…"

Tieu Shu spat in his face and saliva and blood dripped the Prince's features.

"…Seal." He finished and a servant rushed to his aid, proffering a small hand towl. He cleared his face of the offence and whipped his hand around to backhand her, an armored forearm cracking brutally into her face. The raven haired warrior slammed to the carpeted floor. He looked mildly annoyed.

Ranma had no great love for the Amazons. They had tried to murder her, manipulate her and wed her. But should would not abide by torture against the helpless. She had already seen the woman in action and knew she was a formidable warrior but now she was helpless and in the hands of a people she knew for a fact were monsters. Those facts locked into place and Ranma Saotome's first duty as a martial artist kicked in. With the element of surprise on her surprise she launched into the air, twisted around and snapped a brutal kicking into the young prince's skull… Her foot promptly phasing strait through it. The follow through carried Ranma strait through his torso and she landed on lightly behind. Shock only registered briefly as the man kicked the Amazon with a hard leather boot to the stomach. Ranma was furious.

_"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!"_

Her fists blasted into the prince's and _through_ his back. The total lack of resistance caused Ranma to stumble forward, back though the Musk Prince and down the shallow steps that led to the throne. She spun around, looking at her surroundings wildly. No reactions. The guards that now surrounded her paid the attack no mind, still focused on the beating that continued at the feet of the Prince.

"The Seal, Amazon bitch! NOW!" The prince gripped her by the hair and pulled her up off the ground with to meet his eyes and the slits that inhabited their red pupils. God only knew what infusion of Jyusenkyou curses coursed through his blood.

"_NO!"_ Ranma yelled and began to feed power into the ball of ki forming in her hand. Another fist slammed into her stomach and this time, Ranma felt it too. The world blurred.

"RANMA!" Some part of her identified the voice. Her father… "Snap out of it, Boy!" She blinked and the world came back into focus. No throne room. No guards. Just the Tendo living room with a bunch of worried faces.

"Power down, boy…" It was probably the most concerned request she had ever heard her father make and it was only then Ranma realized she was glowing with ki energy. I was powering up for a Moko Takabisha in the house! She let the power levels drop off and her body absorbed the excess chi.

"_Wan jun !_" 2 Ranma fumed, realizing just how much damage her daydream Moko Takabisha would have caused. The family blinked at her again, their worry fading into curiosity.

"Are you _sure_ you haven't been taking Chinese lessons from Shampoo…?" Nabiki asked

Ranma's head dropped in defeat. "I did it again?"

The entire family simply nodded. "Maybe you should see Dr. Tofu…" Akane volunteered.

The redhead shook her head. "It's not a physical thing. It's the curse."

"The curse?"

"Yeah, it's actin' up on me." Ranma replied. "Cologne thinks I'm remembering the first victim of the spring."

"The person you mentioned last night?" Nadoka made the connection from last night's incident. Ranma nodded.

"'Cept all I'm remembering is the bad stuff." Ranma sighed as the pain of memory returned. "She didn't die pretty either… Dammit it's too early to start a day like this…"

Now that a real mystery had presented itself, Nabiki put on her game face. "So why you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah," She pressed. "You can't have been the first to fall in that spring, so why you? Or does everybody get complimentary lessons in Chinese?"

Ranma looked at his father. "Think the guide woulda told us…?"

Genma shrugged. "I'm not exactly being haunted by a Panda on my end. "

"Tofu." Akane stated in no uncertain terms and Ranma resigned himself to his fate.

"Alright already, we go see Tofu."

_Ding-Ding!_

In any other region of the world, that sound would have been harmless. A delivery being made, perhapse? Or maybe the request for service at the front desk. Somebody might have even won the jackpot. In Nermia and for Ranma Saotome in particular, that sound had an entirely different connotation. The dual pulse of a small bell ringing always meant one thing—The application of a bicycle tire being applied to the side of his face. Painfully.

_WhaM!_

Ranma peeled himself off the pavement as Shampoo gracefully dismounted her bicycle, ignoring Akane completely and bending down to Ranma. "Ranma tired on ground? Shampoo make better!"

"What!?" Akane screeched as Shampoo dragged Ranma up into a glomp. At that very moment, the Amazon's ever-present, yet always unwelcome companion made his guest appearance.

"How DARE you molest my Shampoo!" Mousse raged as he sprang from the trees. "Prepare to die, Saotome!"

Ranma stepped sideways to avoid the fist wave of shirukens that erupted from Moouse's white sleeves and a festive colored bonbori intercepted the second. "Mousse stop bother Shampoo and Airen!"

"How can you just let that Chinese hussy hang all over you!" Akane's anger began to spiral out of control like a nuclear reactor in meltdown.

"Kitchen destroyer no talk Shampoo that way!"

"Face me, Ranma!"

"_Ni men dou bi zui !!" _3 Ranma raged and all movement stopped instantly. Even Mousse's next attack was stayed in deference to sheer surprise.

The pigtailed girl turned a withering gaze on the female Amazon first. "If you're an Amazon, _act like one!"_ Shampoo winced. "Pursue Ranma if you must, but you _will_ do so in a manner worthy of your station, do you understand us!?" The wide-eyed Shampoo took a step back and produced a crisp nod. Mousse drew a breath in protest, but it died instantly under Ranma's icy glare. "Are you above the law to disobey an Amazon female now?" The raven-haired boy shrank back. "Remember the consequences of defying your betters, _duck-boy_." She allowed her cold eyes burn into the shivering boy a moment longer before turning on Akane. "And _you!_ We are _not_ happy with you at the moment." Akane took the same reflexive step back that Shampoo took, fear creeping into her psyche for the first time since she had known Ranma.

She swept her baleful glare across the trio before leaping up onto a nearby rooftop, disappearing from sight. The three looked from the rooftop to one another in a rare moment of shared incredulity.

"Hiyaaaa…"

Ranma skipped a stone into the water from the grassy embankment she now sat on. It was her hiding spot under the bridge, a place where she could go when there was just too much to deal with in the shambling chaos called her life. Three skips later and the stone sank beneath the river's murky surface with a ripple.

"Sei chun curse…"4 The redhead grumbled and picked up another rock. This just wasn't working out. After all she'd been through, it just wasn't fair. She could take a curse, even a gender changing one. It was annoying, but once the proper precautions were taken, it was manageable. But now… It just wasn't enough to change into a girl. Now she was getting her ass haunted by the _original_ girl, the one that drowned to curse the stupid puddle in the first place! Dammit!

"You cuss well in Chinese, son in-law." Ranma whipped around to find the old ghoul behind her, slightly further up the incline she sat on.

"Whaddya want?"

"Shampoo… Actually, _we _were worried." Cologne admitted, causing Ranma to arch an eyebrow. "Grand daughter has informed me that your condition is becoming… obvious."

Ranma hunched a bit. "You could say that. Spoutin' Chinese all over the place. Another dream. It's gettin' outta hand."

"Another dream?"

"They tortured her." Ranma told her in a quiet voice. "Wanted something called the Seal. Messed her up bad." After five minutes of total silence, Ranma looked back to the elder and found her nearly white as a ghost. "What?"

"Son in-law, do you _know_ where the Seal is?" Cologne asked very carefully and it was obvious to Ranma how much weight the question held. Why, she had no idea however.

"No." Ranma answered. "The most that Musk bastard got out of her was spit in the face."

"No memories?"

Ranma favored the Amazon with searching gaze. The dream prince wanted the Seal. Cologne wanted the seal. Ranma finally realized something that would have made Nabiki proud—_She had bargaining leverage._ "How about you tell me what's going on now?"

"Not until all the signs—"

"The damn signs say you're not going to get a lick outta me if you don't stop yankin' my chain." Ranma cut her off testily. "I got this Tieu Shu chick runnin' around in my head and if you can't help me then you don't get the play by play, dong ma?" 5

Colgne sighed, realizing that for once the young redhead held all the cards. Unlike her, Ranma would find out everything eventually and the Amazons would be in a precarious position if she didn't function as her guide. It was a role Cologne was dangerously close to forfeiting and it was time to put the cards on the table. "I understand, son in-law. What would you have of me?"

Ranma paused for a moment, taken back by the Elder's willingness to cooperate. Must be some trump card, she thought. "Ok, um… Let's start with the obvious. Why me? This crap can't be happenin' to everybody who falls in that puddle."

"No." it was a simple response, but one drove right to the crux of his problem. "If that were the nature of the curse, then those with animal forms would find themselves subject to the drive of the creatures that drowned. Even with forms such as the one you have been cursed with, that is all it is—A curse of body, not being." She paused for a moment to make sure all of the information was sinking in. "Remain in one form long enough and biology will begin to take over, but rarily does anything of the original sacrifice remain beyond the body."

"Ok, next question…"

"Why you?" Cologne preempted Ranma easily and he simple stared at her expectantly. "That I'm not so sure of. As I said, Jyusenkyou is not a soul trap. Death magic saturates the site like few others, but that is not the nature of your curse.

\End Alpha.

* * *

**Tieu Shu;** Come on, do I need to spell it out? Tieu… Shu…. Waaaiiit for it… Tissue? Gotta keep in theme with Amazon beauty and toiletries, right?

**Special thanks to:**  
Firefly-Serenity Chinese Pinyinary – A huge help with some of the more complex strings of Chinese dialogue that Ranma spouts at random. Also a nice resource for any Firefly fans (such as myself) who want to know just what the cast is saying.  
Swearsaurus – Another great resource for Chinese cursing, though you might notice I've limited Ranma to the more (ahem) tame insults. The online English to Chinese translators just weren't up to the task.

1.Loser  
2.Damn  
3.Everybody shut the hell up  
4.Stupid  
5.Understand?

* * *

**Thanks again for all of your support, and I hope I can continue to live up to your expectations. If it isn't already obvious, too many people to count have contributed to making this a better fic, most of them residing on fukufics IRC. These people deserve both of our thanks for making this a work superior through their suggestions, comments, snide remarks and subtle innuendos. Special Thanks to final proof readers Tri MageOhki and DCG. I did the editing myself this time, so Lord knows I screwed it up somewhere ;)**


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